Christian Mortensen

Supercentenarian

Birthday August 16, 1882

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Denmark

DEATH DATE Apr 25, 1998 (115)

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About

At the time of his death at nearly 116 years old (115 years and 252 days, to be exact), this Danish-born man was the oldest male in recorded history. 

Before Fame

He moved to the United States at the age of twenty-one and worked in the milk, restaurant, and canning industries in Chicago, Illinois.

Trivia

He was a vegetarian and a teetotaler, and he boiled his water before drinking it. His one health vice was the occasional smoking of cigars.

Family Life

Born Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen, he grew up in Skarup, Denmark, as a tailor's son. His brief marriage ended in divorce.

Associated With

In late 2012, Japanese supercentenarian Jiroemon Kimura died at the age of 116 years and 54 days and therefore surpassed Mortensen as the oldest living man in history.