World’s oldest person dies at 114

Hartford: The world’s oldest person, Emma Faust Tillman, has died in the US aged 114.

Mrs Tillman, the daughter of former slaves, died “peacefully” on Sunday night, said an official at a nursing home in Hartford, Connecticut.

Mrs Tillman had lived independently until she was 110 and had never smoked or drank, her family and friends said.

She only became the world’s oldest person last week, after the death of a 115-year-old man in Puerto Rico, the Guinness Book of World Records said.

“She was a wonderful woman,” said Karen Chadderton, administrator of Riverside health and Rehabilitation Center in Hartford.

Mrs Tillman had been very religious and had always attributed her longevity to God’s will, according to her family and friends.

She was born on 22 November 1892 on a plantation near Gibsonville in North Carolina.

In an interview with a local historical society in 1994, Mrs Tillman said her parents had been slaves.

Longevity appears to be common in Mrs Tillman’s family – three of her sisters and a brother lived past 100.

Japan’s Yone Minagawa, who was born in 1893, is now believed to be the world’s oldest person.

Get checked out with the experts

Each year more than a million people die from old age. Experts in the field of anti-ageing medicine, are at the fore-front of what is actually preventative medicine. Most ageing diseases are caused by lifestyle – things that we do to ourselves either by a poor diet, lack of exercise, too much alcohol or smoking. The world’s leading anti-ageing experts are here.

Starting with a simple blood test medical specialists can determine what diet and supplements you need to look better from the inside out and help you live a better quality of life for longer. Other experts can assist with motivation and feelings, cosmetic surgery and rejuvenation.