CENTRAL JAVA, INDONESIA — On April 30, 2017, an Indonesian man who may have been the oldest person to have ever lived passed away at his home in central Java. He is thought to have been 146 years old.
He was Sodimejo Gotho, known to his family as Grandpa Gotho. His national ID card, the kind every Indonesian citizen carries, states Gotho’s birth as December 31, 1870.
However, official Indonesian birth records only go back to 1900, so there’s some controversy family’s claim that he reached 146 years.
Still, the Indonesian government says additional documents and earlier interviews with Gotho have satisfied them his birth date is accurate.
If an additional, independent source is found to verify the Gotho family’s claim, Granddad may be able to posthumously cement his status as oldest human to have ever with a Guinness World Records entry.
Record holder or not, Gotho certainly was old. He was also a lifelong chainsmoker and much loved in his town as a master storyteller, often regaling people with tales of battles against Dutch and Japanese colonizers.
Grandpa Gotho’s long life saw him married four times and sire many, many children. He outlived them all. In his twilight years, he lived with his great grandchildren.
In an interview with the Jakarta Post in 2016, Gotho claimed the key to his longevity was patience.
But patience inevitably runs out, and on April 12, Gotho was taken to the hospital, where he remained for six days,
He returned home but his health never fully recovered. Twelve days later he passed away, surrounded by friends and family.
If his age is verified, Gotho will snatch the longevity crow from French woman, Jeanne Calment, who lived to 122 years old.
