“Super-centenarian” is the term for those who have attained the age of 110. It used to be used to refer to anyone well over the age of 100, but as we live longer and longer, it’s now being reserved for this ultra-special demographic.

A New Hampshire super-centenarian, Mary Josephine Ray, 114, is the oldest living American. (The only person in the world believed to be older is Kama Chinen, a Japanese woman, who was born May 10, 1895, a week before Ray.)

The second-oldest living American, Olivia Patricia “Pat” Thomas, was born in 1895. She celebrated 114 years on June 29 of 2009, according to the Buffalo News, and her life “has included parts of three centuries . She’s lived through two world wars. She was born before the invention of the Model T.”

Walter Breuning, who lives in Great Falls, Montana, is the oldest man alive. He celebrated his 113th birthday on September 21, 2009. What keeps Breuning going? He says it’s eating well and staying mentally active and physically fit. Aspirin is the only medicine Bruening takes, and he eats two meals a day, breakfast and lunch— no dinner. 

According to the Great Falls Tribune, Bruening said, “I think you should push back from the table when you’re still hungry.  . . . You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much.”

Frenchwoman Jeanne Louise Calment, who died in 1997, still holds the longest confirmed lifespan in history: 122 years and 164 days. Though Wikipedia claims she was reportedly neither athletic nor fanatical about her health, she took up fencing at 85 and was still riding a bicycle at 100!

The Gerontology Research Group tracks validated centenarians and super-centenarians. For more information, visit http://www.grg.org/