It is the first time that a claim for longevity from Brazil has been properly ascertained after about three months’ verification, so this time is special – Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records editor-in-chief, said in his comment on a Brazilian woman being recognized as the oldest living person on the globe.
Having 114 years and 10 months under her belt, Brazil’s own Maria Gomes Valentim has become a Guinness World Record breaker once it was established that she was born a month and half earlier than the previous title-bearer, Besse Cooper from Monroe, Ga. Both women were born back – very far back – in 1896, during the reign of Queen Victoria. Glenday reminded that no-one heard of the Ford Motor Company those days, and no-one sang Summertime, for George Gershwin wasn’t to come into the world for another three years.
It took Guinness people some time to reach the supercentenarian who lives in Carangola, a mountain town in Brazil, several hours’ drive from Rio de Janeiro. Valentim let the researchers examine her birth certificate, marriage license and other papers that confirmed her age beyond doubt.
Valentim’s husband died in 1946; they had a son. Now her descendants include four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
Source of the image: Newsfeed.time.
