Shigechiyo Izumi

Shigechiyo Izumi (泉 重千代, Izumi Shigechiyo?, June 29, 1865? – February 21, 1986) was a Japanese centenarian and, according to Guinness World Records, became the oldest living person after the death of Niwa Kawamoto, also from Japan. If his claimed birth-date is correct, he died aged 120 years and 237 days, older than any other recognized man, and would be the second-longest lived human ever, surpassed only by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment.[1] He would also hold the record for the longest working career for a person, spanning 98 years. His name was recorded in Japan's first census of 1871.

Shigechiyo Izumi is the only son of Tameminamoto Izumi and his mother Tsurukame. He lost his parents at the age of 6 months, and became the adopted son of his grandfather Katsuzumi Izumi in February 1866.

Izumi's wife Miya Tadashi ( 1866-1956 ) died at the age of 90. He drank brown sugar shōchū (a Japanese alcoholic beverage often distilled from barley or rice), and took up smoking at age 70.[2] He claimed to have begun his career in 1872, goading draft animals at a sugar mill, and retired as a sugarcane farmer in 1970 at the supposed age of 105. He attributed his long life to "the Gods, Buddha and the Sun".

After a brief hospitalization, Izumi died of pneumonia[1] at 21:15 Japan Standard Time (JST) on February 21, 1986, the same day as Jeanne Calment's 111th birthday. Izumi was the longest holder of the "oldest living person" title. He is also one of only two people (the other being Jeanne Calment) verified to have lived past a 120th birthday, although subsequent research has cast doubt on the verification. In April 1987, 14 months after Izumi's death, the Department of Epidemiology at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology reported that research into Izumi's family registration records indicated Izumi died at the age of 105.[3] [4]

The oldest undisputed man is Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013), who died at the age of 116 years and 85 days.

After his death, Mamie Eva Keith became the world's oldest person.