A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. The term is associated with longevity due to the fact that average life expectancies across the world are still far from 100. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more.
Reaching an old age has fascinated people for ages. According to the Bible, Methuselah lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:27). Today some maintain that the unusually high longevity of Biblical patriarchs are the result of an error in translation: lunar cycles were mistaken for the solar ones, and the actual ages are 13.5 times less. This gives 72 years for Methuselah, which is still an impressive number, bearing in mind the life expectancy of these times. This theory however, seems doubtful to others since patriarchs such as Mahalalel (ibid 5:15) and Enoch (ibid 5:21) were said to have become fathers after 65 "years." If the lunar cycle theory were accepted this would translate to an age of about 4 and 10 months.
Jeanne Calment - oldest person ever whose age has been verified by modern documentation; born 1875, lived to the age of 122. This defines the human lifespan, which is set by the oldest documented individual who ever lived.
Habib Miyan - unauthenticated claim to be 132; believed by Indian court to be at least 125 (in 2003), having retired in 1938. If true--and assuming no other similarly unproven claim to be even older is also true-- then each day he lives would extend the human lifespan by one day.
In the United States, centenarians traditionally receive a letter from the president upon reaching their 100th birthday, congratulating them for their longevity. In the United Kingdom, the Queen sends greetings (formerly as a telegram) on the 100th birthday and on every birthday starting with the 105th.
Among Hindus, people who touch the feet of elders are often blessed with "May you live a hundred years". In Poland, Sto lat, a wish to live a hundred years, is a traditional form of praise and good wishes; the Jewish tradition, however, is more ambitious, "May you live as long as Moses", or 120 years. Chinese emperors were hailed to live ten thousand years.
Ask Trudy Personal homepage of a centenarian. Includes her story, her secrets to long life, favorite jokes and quotes, and links to sites of interest to centenarians and other seniors. http://www.geocities.com/trudy1899
Centenarians: Lives of a Century Ten American centenarians, all born before 1900, look back on a century that spanned Depression, world wars, and the advent of airplanes and automobiles. http://www.csmonitor.com/atcsmonitor/specials/centenarians/
National Centenarian Awareness Project Nonprofit organization seeking to contact and honor all those 100 years old and older for their contributions to the past. Interviews, greeting cards and registry. http://adlercentenarians.com/
South Plains Centenarians This site contains the life stories of 100 year old residents in nursing facilities on the South Plains of Texas. http://www.geocities.com/southplains100/
Centenarians Featuring a new centenarian each month. Stories of people who lived to be 100. http://www.hcoa.org/centenarians/centenarians.htm
The Okinawa Centenarian Study Identifies eleven genetic and lifestyle factors responsible for successful, healthy aging. http://www.okinawaprogram.com/
Centenarians: The Bonus Years Secrets of aging, discusses their amazing personal histories and looks at the difficulties of the very old in today's society. http://www.healthpress.com/cent1.htm
The Health Report: Centenarian Study A group of researchers at Harvard Medical School have been trying to find out what it takes to reach the age of 100 or more. An interview with to two of the principal investigators, Drs Margery Silver and Dr Tom Perls. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/stories/s19117.htm
A Look at Centenarians A study on the growing segment of centenarian population by the Boston University School of Medicine. Includes glossary, newsletters, publications and related resources. http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Departments/PageMain.asp?Page=5749&DepartmentID=361
Land of Sky Century Club Recognizes and honors individuals who are at least 100 years old in Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania Counties of North Carolina. http://landofsky.fp.skyrunner.net/aaa/programs/centuryclub.html
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