According to the Guinness World Records, Ethel Caterham, a British woman, is currently the oldest living person in the world. She celebrated her 116th birthday on August 21, holding onto this prestigious title that is difficult to surpass.
Ethel Caterham resides in Surrey, England. Following the passing of the 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas on April 30, Caterham, at the age of 115 years and 252 days, became the oldest living person in the world, as reported by the Guinness World Records website on August 21.
In April, Caterham also surpassed the record previously held by Charlotte Hughes (1877-1993), becoming the oldest person in British history.
Born in Hampshire to a family of eight children, Caterham was the seventh child. She is not the only one in her family who has lived a remarkably long life; one of her sisters passed away at the age of 104 in March 2002.
Caterham has a love for traveling. At the age of 18 in 1927, she traveled to India by ship to work as a nanny for a family, staying there for three years before returning to England.
It was during a dinner in 1931 that she met her future husband, British Army Lieutenant Colonel Norman Caterham. They got married in 1933 and had two daughters. Caterham accompanied Norman on his postings in Hong Kong and Gibraltar.
Norman passed away in 1976. Unfortunately, Caterham’s two daughters preceded her in death, with one succumbing to cancer in 2020 at the age of 82.
On August 21 this year, Caterham celebrated her 116th birthday with her three granddaughters, five great-granddaughters, and other relatives.
Born in 1909, Caterham is believed to be the last living person born in that year worldwide. At the age of 110 in 2020, she contracted COVID-19. This makes her one of the oldest survivors of the pandemic.
When asked about the secret to her longevity by the Salisbury Journal, a British media outlet, Caterham replied, “Seize every opportunity because you never know what it might bring; maintain a positive attitude and do everything in moderation.”
The Guinness World Records notes that the longest-living person in history was Jeanne Louise Calment from France, who lived a total of 122 years and 164 days before passing away in 1997.