   jeanne louise calment (; 21 february 1875 â 4 august 1997) was a french supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human lifespan on record, living to the age of .the guinness book of records, 1999 edition, p. 102, isbn 0-85112-070-9. she lived in arles, france, for her entire life, outliving both her daughter and grandson by several decades. calment became especially well known from the age of 113, when the centenary of vincent van gogh's visit brought reporters to arles. calment became the last living documented person born in the 1870s when the japanese supercentenarian tane ikai (born 1879) died on 12 july 1995. her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study. more records have been produced to verify her age than in any other case. == early life == thumb|left|birth certificate of jeanne calment thumb|upright|calment at age 20 in 1895 calment was born in arles on 21 february 1875. her father, nicolas calment (28 january 1838 â 22 january 1931), was a shipbuilder, and her mother, marguerite gilles (20 february 1838 â 18 september 1924), was from a family of millers. she had an older brother, francois, (25 april 1865 â 1 december 1962). some of her close family members also lived an above-average lifespan, although none lived anywhere near as long as jeanne: her older brother franÃ§ois lived to the age of 97, her father to six days shy of 93, and her mother to 86. according to calment, she met vincent van gogh at the age of 13, when he came into her father's shop to buy paints in 1888. she found him to be "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable."{{cite news|url = http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vqegaaaaibaj&sjid=7ggfaaaaibaj&pg=6026%2c3313956|title = world's oldest person dead|date = 4
1875_births 1997_deaths Female_supercentenarians French_Christians French_supercentenarians Oldest_people_ever People_from_Arles