The phenomenon of longevity has been of concern to scientists for a long time. They all claim that a person lives very little. On average, thirty percent less than due. But there are unique people who live longer than others. Today we will talk about centenarians, one of which is Christian Mortensen.
Who is a long-liver?
A person who differs from the rest in longevity is called a long-liver. And from what age is it customary to call a person that? Throughout the world, this measure is the same: a person whose age has reached ninety years or more belongs to this category.
It should be noted that a significant share in this group is occupied by women. Scientists explain this by the fact that the representatives of the stronger sex reduce their longevity by bad habits and heavy physical exertion.
A significant part of the long-lived population falls on such states as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Abkhazia and other mountainous countries. There are a lot of them in Japan as well.
Biography
In this article, let's talk about long-lived Christian Mortensen,who is currently considered the longest-lived man.
Thomas Peter Thorwald Christian Ferdinand Mortensen was born on August 16, 1882 in the Danish village of Skorup. Unlike many other centenarians whose date of birth is inaccurate, Christian Mortensen's date of birth is known. This is confirmed by data on the time of his baptism, as well as by the Danish census, which was carried out in 1890 and 1901. Christian Mortensen, whose biography is connected not only with Denmark, but also with the United States, is also mentioned in official immigration documents. There is his surname in the church records of 1896.
At home, he worked in agriculture and at the same time received the profession of a tailor. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Christian Mortensen went to live in the States. There he often had to change jobs and housing. He worked at a cannery as a laborer and later as a milkman.
Christian Mortensen was married for a while. Unfortunately, the couple divorced after a while. The man no longer had serious relationships with women. He never had children.
The long-liver ate poultry and fish, but did not like red meat. He used boiled water as a drink.
Interesting facts
Mortensen himself expressed a desire to move and stay in a nursing home near San Francisco. It was there that the man spent the last twenty-five years of his life.
Sometimes he allowed himself to smoke a cigarette, saying that it was not harmful to he alth.
In recent yearsChristian almost completely lost his sight and moved on a wheelchair. Even then, he had no living relatives left.
Christian Mortensen died in 1998 at the age of 115, months before his next birthday.
Longevity record holders
For his 115th birthday, he wanted to get the title of "The oldest inhabitant of the earth", which was awarded by the Guinness Book of Records. But there were people who were older than Mortensen. This person turned out to be a resident of Canada, Maria Louise Mayor, who turned 117 years old in 1998.
Another centenarian was found in the States. This is Sarah Knauss. She died in December 1999 at the age of 119.
Among the record holders there is also the name of Maggie Pauline Barnes. She is the only centenarian born into slavery. The woman lived for almost 116 years. If you look in the Book of Records, you can see the names of such long-lived people as Maria Capovilla, Tane Ikai, Elizabeth Bolden. Bessie Cooper, like Maggie Barnes, lived the full 116 years.
What is the secret of the longevity of these people is still unknown. Almost everyone had different living conditions, but the only thing that united them was love of life and optimism. They loved life and it gave them longevity.
