Mbah Gotho from Sragen in central Java, Indonesia, who at 145 years of age is regarded as the longest living human in history.
According to the documents recognized by Indonesian officials, Mbah Gotho was born on December 31, 1870. If the documents are true, that would make him much older than the verified oldest person in the world ever – a title that currently belongs to Jeanne Calment from France who lived to the age of 122.
Mr Gotho has outlived all 10 of his siblings, his four wives, as well as all his children, and is now survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. He has even bought a burial site close to the graves of his children. “The gravestone there was made in 1992. That was 24 years ago,” Mr Gotho’s grandson said.
However, the super senior citizen now ‘just wants to die’ and even bought his gravestone 20 years ago. “What I want is to die. My grandchildren are all independent,” he said.
Whether or not he will be listed as the world’s oldest man however is uncertain, as the paperwork has till now not been independently verified.
For the past three months, Mr Gotho has had to be spoon-fed and bathed as he has become weaker. According to Mr Gotho’s grandchildren, he mostly sits and listens to the radio. When asked what his secret to longevity is, Mr Gotho replied: “The recipe is just patience.”
While record office staff says they have confirmed the birth date on his identity card, he will not make it into the record books until the findings are independently verified. The current record holder, French woman Jeanne Calment, died in 1997 at the age of 122.
