Emiliano Mercado del Toro Emiliano Mercado del Toro ( August 21 , 1891 – January 24 , 2007 ) was , at age 115 , the world ' s oldest person for six weeks , and the world ' s oldest man from November 19 , 2004 ( death of Fred H . Hale , Sr . ) until his own death on January 24 , 2007 . He is the oldest verified military veteran ever . At the time of his death at age 115 years and 156 days , Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever , behind Danish - American Christian Mortensen ' s record of 115 years 252 days . He continued to hold this position until more than five years later , when , on September 23 , 2012 , Japanese man Jiroemon Kimura surpassed his age . On 21 August 2006 , Mercado became the second fully validated man in history to reach age 115 . Del Toro was the last and oldest surviving documented person born in 1891 . Del Toro was also the oldest verified Hispanic / Latino person ever . He officially became the oldest documented living person on December 11 , 2006 , following the death of 116 - year - old Elizabeth Bolden . He was the 34th person to hold this title since its inception . Biography . Emiliano ( known to his family as " Emilio " ) was born in Cabo Rojo , Puerto Rico , the son of Delfín Mercado and Gumercinda del Toro . Emiliano worked in the cane fields until the age of 81 . He never married and never had children , but said he had three " girlfriends " ( love interests ) in his life . Accolades . Mercado first came to the attention of longevity researchers in 2001 , when a story ran about a 110 - year - old veteran in a parade in Puerto Rico . After that , researchers tried to track him down , but only after the November 2004 death of Fred H . Hale , Sr . did someone finally start sending in documents . Following Mr . Hale ' s death , Emiliano apparently became the oldest man in the world , with documents supplied so far including a birth certificate , baptismal certificate , 1910 census record , and veteran ID card . By January 2005 , Guinness had accepted Emiliano as the " " oldest living man whose age could be fully authenticated " " . He was one of the few males to hold the title of oldest living person ( 37 of the 40 preceding title holders , as well as 39 of the top 40 oldest persons living at the time of his death , were all female ) and was the most recent to do so until 17 December 2012 , when Jiroemon Kimura from Japan took over the title . Mercado was four years older at the time than his successor as oldest living man , Tomoji Tanabe from Japan . The last male to have held the title was the latter ' s countryman Yukichi Chuganji in 2003 , though back then Kamato Hongo was believed to be older ( Hongo ' s age claim was later debunked ) . In addition , Emiliano Mercado del Toro was 27 years old in October 1918 when the U . S . Army drafted him to serve in World War I , as a veteran of WWI , he broke the record for longest - lived veteran of any military force that was set by Antonio Todde , Mercado del Toro became a bona fide non - combat veteran . ( Mercado was still at a training camp in Panama when the November 11 , 1918 armistice was declared ) He was discharged the next month and at age 27 . In 1993 , he was honored by U . S . President Bill Clinton with the medal commemorating the 75th anniversary of the signing of the truce that ended World War I . Mercado del Toro , the elder of two siblings , had to move from his familiar Cabo Rojo grounds due to a fall he had in his home when he was 102 , which affected his hipbone . His 85 year - old niece took him to live with his relatives , and he was well taken care of by nieces and nephews - and their families , who called him " " Tío Millo " " ( " Uncle Millo " ) - at their home in Isabela . Later life . Mercado could reminisce about being a child when U . S . troops invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 , and he clearly remembered the fighting that marked the end of Spain ' s colonial empire in the Americas . He credited his longevity to " funche " , a boiled corn , codfish and milk cream - like dish , which he ate every day as a habit . Mercado also claimed that his sense of humor was probably responsible for his long life , and he would tell jokes and humorous anecdotes almost to the end of his days . He would not elaborate on details of his love life , but would humorously hint about them : in one of the many interviews he gave to Puerto Rican media , Mercado claimed to have been at the " dancing club " ( a euphemism for a bordello ) owned by Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer ( better known as " Isabel la Negra " ) the day she was assassinated . He was 82 years old at the time and reportedly hid under a table when Oppenheimer ' s killers started firing gunshots . Asked what he was doing there , he said : " praying . . . or at least I was when the bullets started flying ! " His last two birthdays were media events in the town of Isabela . Civic leaders and veterans commended Mercado on his endurance and lucid mind , but the " gift " he would enjoy the most was the visit of Puerto Rican " vedette " and media icon Iris Chacón . In an interview , Mercado claimed to be a great fan of the artist , and particularly of her derrière ( " " That rump was something serious ! " " , he was quoted as saying ) . Chacón visited Mercado , who , although he could barely see or hear by the time of his 114th birthday , was pleased with her visit . His photo touching Chacón ' s rear end , with a big smile on his face , made newspaper headlines in Puerto Rico . She returned the following year to greet him . After hearing news of Mercado ' s death , Chacón was quoted as saying : " " I feel like I ' ve lost my own grandfather . I was blessed for knowing him , knowing that I made him happy , and blessed for the anecdotes and wishes he told me the times I met him . His wisdom is something I learned a lot from . His life is an example of how you ' re supposed to live your life , happily and doing good , for it will give you longevity and goodwill from everyone . " " He was buried at the Municipal Cemetery of his native town of Cabo Rojo , with mayors , legislators and Puerto Rican " vedette " Iris Chacón in attendance . He was the oldest living person at his death , and is the second most recent man to hold the title of oldest living person . He became the oldest living person when 116 - year - old American supercentenarian Elizabeth Bolden died on Monday , December 11 , 2006 . He is the oldest verified person who died in 2007 .