Jeanne Louise Calment (1875-1997)

Jeanne Louise Calment (21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) reached the longest confirmed lifespan in history at 122 years and 164 days. Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study; more records have been produced to verify her age than for any other case.

Biography
Born in Arles to a well-to-do family, she was 14 when the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. Her close family members also lived to an advanced age: her brother, François, lived to the age of 97, her father, Nicolas, 93, and her mother, Marguerite, 86. In 1896, she married her second cousin (grandson of her great-uncle) Fernand Calment, a wealthy storeowner. His wealth made it possible for Calment never to have to work: instead she led a relaxed lifestyle, pursuing hobbies like tennis, cycling, swimming, rollerskating, piano and opera. Her husband died in 1942, after he ate a dessert prepared with spoiled cherries.

Calment's longevity was not shared by her offspring. Her only daughter, Yvonne, died at age 36 in 1934 from pneumonia. As a result, the task of bringing up her grandson Frédéric fell on her shoulders. He became a doctor, but died in 1963 in a motorcycle accident.

In 1965, aged 90, with no living heirs, Jeanne Calment signed a deal, common in France, to sell her condominium apartment en viager to lawyer François Raffray. Raffray, then aged 47, agreed to pay a monthly sum until she died, an agreement sometimes called a "reverse mortgage". At the time of the deal the value of the apartment was equal to ten years of payments. Unfortunately for Raffray, not only did Calment survive more than thirty years, but Raffray died of cancer in December 1995, at the age of 77, leaving his widow to continue the payments.

Recognition
In 1985, Calment moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own until age 110. However, she did not gain international fame until 1988, when the centenary of Vincent van Gogh's visit to Arles provided an occasion to meet reporters. She said that at age 14, she met van Gogh in her father's shop, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable." She also reported attending the 1885 funeral of Victor Hugo.

At the age of 114, she appeared briefly in the film Vincent and Me as herself, making her the oldest actress ever. A French documentary film about her life, entitled Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment, was released in 1995. In 1996, the nursing home where she lived released a CD entitled Time's Mistress. It featured her reminiscing, set to rap and other tunes. She was also a smoker and only quit when she was 117 years old. Her fondness for sweets, like chocolate, also continued until the ripe old age of 119. She was the last recognized surviving person of the 1870s.

Assignment of record
After her 1988 interview, at age 113, Calment was given the Guinness Records' "world's oldest person" title. She was first mentioned in the Guinness Records publication of 1989, in new claims at the end. However, in 1989 the title was withdrawn and given to Carrie C. White of Florida, who was claimed to have been born in 1874, although this has been disputed by subsequent census research.

On the death of White on 14 February 1991, Calment, then a week shy of 116, became the oldest recognized living person. On 17 October 1995 Calment reached 120 years and 238 days to become the Guinness "oldest person ever", surpassing Shigechiyo Izumi of Japan, whose own claim has since also been subject to some doubt. Coincidentally, Izumi died on Calment's 111th birthday.

If the questionable cases of Shigechiyo Izumi and Carrie White are discounted, Calment is the first person documented to reach 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121 and 122 years old. She is the only person to have undisputedly lived at least 120 years.

Following Calment's death on 4 August 1997, 117-year-old Marie-Louise Meilleur of Canada became the oldest recognized person in the world.

Health status
Jeanne Calment's remarkable health presaged her later record. At age 85, she took up fencing. At 100, she was still riding a bicycle. Jeanne lived on her own until shortly before her 110th birthday, when her cooking caused an accidental fire in her apartment and it was decided that she needed to be moved to a nursing home. However, Jeanne was still in good shape, and was able to walk until a fall at age 114 years and 11 months. Jeanne survived a hip operation in January 1990 to become the oldest verified surgery patient. Although she needed to use a wheelchair afterward, Jeanne remained talkative and received frequent visitors until her 122nd birthday, at which time it was finally decided that her health status had declined and warranted privacy. Indeed, it was said by Jean-Marie Robine that this "allowed her to die", because the attention had kept her going. Jeanne Calment died five months later.

Quotes
(see Robine book mentioned in the "References" section for citations)


 * "J'ai été oubliée par le Bon Dieu!" ("I have been forgotten by the Good Lord!")
 * "I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."
 * "I've only got one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."
 * "Wine, I'm in love with that."
 * "A very short one." When asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she would expect to have.