The new oldest man in the world is 111 years old and a lifelong Liverpool FC fan

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World record inherited: John Alfred Tinniswood

Photo: dpa

John Alfred Tinniswood claimed his record. “Pure luck,” as he told the Guardian. Tinniswood is considered the oldest man in the world since the actual record contender, Gisaburo Sonobe, passed away. The Japanese should have inherited the title from Juan Vicente Pérez; the Venezuelan had recently died at the age of 114. But now it has become known that Gisaburo Sonobe is no longer alive. He died on March 31 at 112 years and 146 days.

"You either live a long time or you live a short time, and there's not much you can do about it," said the 111-year-old new record holder from the Guinness World Records organization on the subject. Tinniswood is from Liverpool and was born on August 26, 1912, the same year the Titanic sank. The Englishman also recommends moderation: "If you drink too much or eat too much or walk too much, if you do too much of anything, you will eventually suffer." He doesn't follow a special diet, he eats what's on the table , like “Fish and Chips”.

His great-grandfather doesn't care much about his new entry in the Guinness Book of World Records: "It makes no difference to me," he said. Tinniswood has been Britain's oldest man since 2020. From his 100th birthday in 2012, he received a birthday card from the late Queen Elizabeth every year.

He lived through both world wars and is the world's oldest surviving male World War II veteran, having served in administration for the Army Pay Corps. According to the Guardian, his tasks included bookkeeping and auditing, as well as finding stranded soldiers and supplying food.

Tinniswood now lives in a nursing home, but is reportedly still able to carry out most everyday tasks independently: he gets out of bed without help, listens to the radio to stay informed, and continues to manage his finances himself, he says.

Lifelong Liverpool FC fan

His wife Blodwen died in 1986; before that they were together for 44 years. His connection with Liverpool FC, however, still stands: Tinniswood was born just 20 years after the club was founded in 1892 and has witnessed all eight of his club's FA Cup victories and 17 of its 19 league titles.

For the younger generations, Tinniswood has the following wisdom: »Give it everything you have. Otherwise it’s not worth bothering with.”

The oldest man ever was Jiroemon Kimura of Japan, who lived to 116 years and 54 days and died in 2013. The oldest living woman and oldest living person in the world is Spain's Maria Branyas Morera, who recently celebrated her 117th birthday.

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