World's Oldest Person To Live for 3 Centuries Died In New York

By R. Siva Kumar - 13 May '16 11:16AM

Susannah Mushatt Jones, born in an Alabama farm in July 1899, was the last living American who was born in the 19th Century. She has been a witness to two world wars and 20 US presidencies. She died at the age of 116 years and 311 days.

And now the latest oldest person in the world is an Italian woman, Emma Morano, who is also believed to be the last living person born in the 1890s.

Susannah Mashott Jones had 10 siblings. Her grandparents had been slaves while her parents had been crop pickers.

Having gone to a special school for young black girls, she finished graduation from high school in 1922.

Her first shift was to New York where she worked as a nanny, helping to open a scholarship fund for African-American women.

Until the end,she was extra active and remained part of the tenant patrol of her nursing home till she turned 106.

Hence, Jones was a living legend and link with history. Her birth year, 1899, itself was a momentous year as a historical chapter from history books. Some events linked with that year include:

--The Second Boer War started in South Africa, the US and the Philippines got into a war and aspirin was invented.

--Her birth was also before Queen Victoria's death in Britain, before Marconi's first ever wireless transmission, and even before the Wright Brothers' first aircraft.

How did she manage to live such an interesting life? Her formula is clear and simple---lots of sleep, no smoking or drinking.

There was a rather complex reason too. In an interview with Time Magazine last year, she said she loved to eat "four strips of bacon with scrambled egg every day."

She loved to buy high-end lace lingerie, reported her family. She once confessed to nurses during a medical check-up: "You can never get too old to wear fancy stuff."