Jiroemon Kimura

Jiroemon Kimura (19 April 1897 – 12 June 2013) was a Japanese supercentenarian. He is the verified longest-lived man in history, having surpassed the previous record-holder, Christian Mortensen, on 28 December 2012, and the first man ever to reach age 116+. He is also the 2nd oldest Japanese and Asian person ever, and the 9th oldest person overall. He became the world's oldest living person following the death of 115 year old Italian–American woman Dina Manfredini on 17 December 2012.
== Early life ==
Jiroemon Kimura was born as Kinjiro Miyake to Morizo (1870-1906) and Fusa Miyake (1875-1906) on 19 April 1897 to in the fishing village of Kamiukawa, the third of six children. He finished school second in his class at the age of 14 and started working as a postal worker at the age of 17.
=== March or April? ===
According to Kimura's official documents, his date of birth is April 19, 1897. However, his nephew has claimed that his date of birth was accidentally recorded as April 19, 1897 instead of March 19, 1897 when documents from neighboring towns were consolidated and re-done in 1955.
== Marriage and Career ==
In the 1920s, Kimura also worked as a government communications worker in Korea under Japanese rule. Upon returning from Korea, he married his neighbor, Yae Kimura (1904–1978). Since his wife's family lacked a male heir, he changed his name to Jiroemon Kimura, becoming the ninth member of the family to bear that name. He retired in 1962 at the age of 65, having worked in post offices for 45 years. After retiring he turned to farming until the age of 90.
== Personal life ==
Four of Kimura's siblings lived past the age of 90, and his youngest brother died at the age of 100.[2] Kimura had 7 children (5 surviving), 14 grandchildren (13 surviving), 25 great-grandchildren, and 14 great-great-grandchildren. Kimura was health conscious and active. He woke up early in the morning and read newspapers with a magnifying glass. Also, he enjoyed talking to guests and followed live parliamentary debates on television. According to him, small portions of food were the key to a long and healthy life. Kimura resided in Kyōtango, Kyoto Prefecture, with his eldest son's widow, 83, and his grandson's widow, 59.
On his 114th birthday on April 19, 2011, Kimura mentioned his survival of the 7.6 magnitude 1927 Kita Tango earthquake that hit Kyoto and killed over 3,000 people. Being born in the year 30 of the Meiji period, he lived in the reigns of 4 emperors, and during the premierships of 61 Japanese Prime Ministers, from Matsukata Masayoshi to Shinzō Abe.
In October 2012, Kimura was presented with a certificate from Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday, relating to Kimura's appearance in the new 2013 Guinness World Records book; this was the second year in a row Kimura was recognized as the oldest living man in the world, as he also appeared in the 2012 edition of the book. During the meeting, Kimura said he spent most of his time in bed.
On his 116th and final birthday, Kimura received many well wishes, including a video message from Shinzō Abe, Japan's Prime Minister.
=== Death and Funeral ===
Kimura was hospitalized for pneumonia and natural causes on May 11, 2013. He finally succumbed to the illness the following month, dying at 2:08 a.m. on June 12, 2013. His funeral took place at 8:00 a.m. on June 14, 2013.
== See also ==
* Dina Manfredini, (1897-2012) the WOP before Kimura
* Misao Okawa, (1898-2015) the WOP after Kimura
* Christian Mortensen, (1882-1998) the previous record holder for oldest man ever
Category:1897 births
Category:2013 deaths
Category:WOPs
Category:WOMs