Oldest person in the world: Maria Branyas Morera dies at the age of 117 in Spain
Oldest living person, Maria Branyas Morera, dies at the age of 117
Maria Branyas Morera, the world’s oldest living person, has died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 117, her family announced.
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The world’s oldest known living person, a US-born Spaniard who survived well over a century and two pandemics, has died at the age of 117 years and 168 days.
“Maria Branyas (Morera) has left us. She died as she had wished: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain,” her family, who run her social media account, posted on X on Tuesday. “We will always remember her for her advice and kindness.”
Morera was born on March 4, 1907 in California and was living in Spain at the time of her death.
The supercentenarian has experienced the 1918 flu pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Gerontology Research Group, which verifies records of people estimated to be 110 years old or older, had listed her as the oldest known person in the world.
“Guinness World Records is saddened to learn that the world’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera … passed away yesterday,” Guinness wrote on its website on Tuesday.
She was the eighth oldest person of verifiable age in history.
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“Smiling, free and content”
Just days before her death, the woman, who was over 100 years old and lived in the town of Olot in northeastern Spain, had warned in a post that she felt “weak”.
“The time is near. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all, don’t suffer for me. Wherever I go, I will be happy,” reads a post on her account.
According to the family’s post, Morera told them the following a few days ago:
“One day I will leave here. I will stop drinking coffee and eating yogurt… I will also leave my memories and my thoughts behind and stop existing in this body. One day, I don’t know but it is very near, this long journey will end. Death will find me exhausted because I have lived so long, but I want it to find me smiling, free and content.”
Who was the oldest known person of all time?
Jeanne Calment from Arles, France, lived to be almost 123 years old.
Calment, a French supercentenarian and the oldest person whose age is documented, lived to the age of 122 years and 164 days.
She was born on February 21, 1875 and died on August 4, 1997.
Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies were conducted on her health and lifestyle. She is the only person documented to have lived to be 120 years old or older.
Who was the last known oldest person to die?
Frenchwoman Lucile Randon, a nun nicknamed Sister André, was born in the town of Ales in southern France and died last year at the age of 118, shortly before her 119th birthday.
She was born on February 11, 1904 and died on January 17, 2023.
Who is currently the oldest living person in the world?
The oldest living person in the world, listed by the Gerontology Research Group, is Tomiko Itooka of Japan, born on May 23, 1908.
On Tuesday, she was 116 years and 89 days old, making her one of seven known living supercentenarians over the age of 110 worldwide, the group reported.
There were no men on the list.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X at @nataliealund.
