Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Louise Calment (21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) was a French supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human lifespan in history, living to the age of 7002122000000000000122 years, 7002164000000000000164 days. She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, outliving both her daughter and grandson by several decades. Calment became especially well known from the age of 113, when the centenary of Vincent van Gogh's visit brought reporters to Arles. She entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1988, and on 17 October 1995 became the oldest person ever, having surpassed the (now discounted) case of Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan.

Calment became the last living documented person born in the 1870s when the Japanese supercentenarian Tane Ikai (born 1879) died on 12 July 1995, and was thence, from that date, more than five and a half years older than any other living human being until her death over two years later; in total she outlived 329 undisputedly-verified supercentenarians.

Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study, with more records having been produced to verify her age than for any other case. She is the only person confirmed to have reached over 120 years of age.