Martha Graham

Martha Graham (December 1844 – June 25, 1959) was an American supercentenarian who became the oldest person ever recorded, a title she held until the 1980s, when she was surpassed first by Mathew Beard, and then by Augusta Holtz.

Little is known about Graham's life. She was born in December 1844 into slavery.[1] [2] Upon the death of Betsy Baker on October 24, 1955, Graham became both the oldest person in the United States and the oldest person in the entire world.[2] Sometime in July 1958, Graham surpassed Delina Filkins's 1928 record as the oldest person ever recorded.[3]

On June 25, 1959, Graham died, aged 114 years c. 180 days in Fayetteville, North Carolina.[1] Initially the Guinness Book of World Records believed her to have been 117 or 118 when she died, but this has since been proven false.[1] [2] Succeeding her as oldest person alive was James Henry Brett, Jr., similarly from the United States.[4]