On August 26, 2011 Besse Cooper became the oldest known living person in the world. Ms. Cooper is 115 years old and resides in a nursing home in Georgia, USA. She was born in Tennessee on Aug. 26, 1896 when Grover Cleveland was President. She is one of only 26 people confirmed to have lived beyond age 115.
Ms. Cooper recalls being a vigorous tomboy in her youth, clearly a penchant for the important longevity principle of physical activity is part of her makeup.
She reared four children, after getting married in 1924, and as a young adult was a schoolteacher. She lived most of her life on a fifty acre farm which she bought after saving $500 from teaching.
She lived on that farm until age 105 when she moved to the nursing home.
She has been an avid reader up until 14 months ago when her eyesight became too reduced to continue reading.
At age 113 she was asked the famous question as to how she got to live so long.
“I mind my own business, and I don’t eat junk food,” she said in a comment proving once again the key anti-aging principles of diet and stress reduction.
Now that she is the oldest living human being, perhaps Ms. Cooper is going to try something new. When she was told she was oldest person alive on February 1, 2011 she said “I am? Then I should get a box of chocolates – assorted!”
Then again, there are some key health benefits to chocolate as well.
