The oldest person ever to have lived was Jeanne Louise Calment who died in 1997 at the grand old age of 122 years and 164 days.
Although others have claimed to be much older, including this Ethiopian man who claims to be 160 years old, Jeanne Calment had the only claim that can be officially verified by a birth certificate.
The picture to the right was taken in 1915 when Jeanne was 40 years old. What is amazing to think is that this was a full 3 years after the Titanic sank. Jeanne died in 1997; the year that the famous movie 'Titanic' was released. She was well into adulthood when the Titanic sank and lived to see the movie be released!
She was born before the telephone and died after the first Harry Potter book was released. This incredible lifespan has not been beaten in the 17 years since her death. Jeanne Calment's only contender is Misao Okawa of Japan. At (only!) 116 years old, we still have a few more years yet to see if Jeanne Calment's incredible record will be beaten!
