John Tinniswood, the world’s oldest man, died at the care home where he lived in Southport, northwest England, according to Guinness World Records, citing his family. Tinniswood was born in Liverpool on August 26, 1912, and passed away on Monday. In April, he became the world’s oldest man when Venezuelan Juan Vicente Perez died at the age of 114.
“His last day was surrounded by music and love,” the family said in a statement, thanking “all those who cared for him over the years”. Tinniswood, who was born the same year the Titanic crashed and lived through both World Wars, told Guinness World Records that the secret to his life was “pure luck”.
“You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it,” he told me. Nonetheless, he urged moderation in all aspects of life in order to remain healthy. “If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much, if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually,” according to him.
Tinniswood worked in accounts for oil companies Shell and BP after serving as an administrative officer in the Royal Army Pay Corps during WWII. He was a lifelong Liverpool football fan who ate fish and chips every Friday. Tomiko Itooka of Japan is now the world’s oldest living woman, at 116 years old.
