(Jamaica Observer) Jamaica’s oldest citizen, supercentenarian Violet Moss Brown, is approximately eight months younger than the world’s oldest person, Susannah Mushatt Jones of the United States, according to information available from the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) website.
Moss Brown, who is ranked third by the GRG and who was introduced to local readers by an article published on March 19, 2009, turned 116 years old on March 10. Mushatt Jones turned 116 on July 6, 2015, while second placed Italian Emma Morano turned 116 on November 29 last year.
This means that the three oldest human beings, which includes Moss Brown, are only separated in age by months.
Moss Brown, affectionately called Aunt V, lives in Duanvale, Trelawny. Her eldest child, Harold Fairweather, at age 95, is said to be the world’s oldest living child with a parent alive.
Japan has the most supercentenarians. The top 10 oldest people alive are all women. The highest ranking male is 112-year-old Israel Kristal, a Polish/Israeli citizen who was born on September 15, 1903.
A supercentenarian is someone who has lived to or passed their 110th birthday. There are estimated to be 300–450 living supercentenarians in the world, though only 50 verified cases are known.
