Germany’s oldest man celebrates 114th birthday

Gustav Gerneth, who is believed to be the oldest man in Germany on Tuesday celebrated his 114th birthday.

Mayor Bernd Poloski visited Gerneth at his home in the north-eastern town of Havelberg, bringing him best wishes from politicians, a gift hamper with Gerneth’s favourite candy and flowers.

“He still likes to eat sweets,’’ Poloski said afterwards.

As in previous years, Gerneth spent his birthday only with a small group of people.

The celebration also featured a Frankfurter Kranz, a ring-shaped buttercream cake.

“He is still interested in things, especially in football,’’ Poloski said.

He is a trained machine operator and was born on October 15, 1905, in what is now the Polish city of Szczecin.

According to Wikipedia, The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment (1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days.[b] The oldest verified man ever is Jiroemon Kimura (1897–2013) of Japan, who lived to the age of 116 years, 54 days.

As of 15 October 2019, the oldest known living person is Kane Tanaka of Japan, aged 116 years, 286 days. The oldest known living man is Gustav Gerneth of Germany, aged 114 years, 0 days. Due to differences in life expectancy, the 100 oldest women have, on average, lived several years longer than the 100 oldest men.

All the people on this list are super-centenarians, having reached an age of at least 110.