The oldest human being on Earth, Emma Morano, is the last person alive to have seen the 19th century.
Born on November 29, 1899, the Italian, who has now reached the grand old age of 117, is officially the oldest human being alive anywhere in the world and the only remaining person to have been born during the 1800s.
The eldest of eight children, Morano has remained independent for almost her entire life.
She left her violent husband in 1938 following the death of her only son and lived on her own, supporting herself through jobs which included working in a factory producing jute sacks.
Despite her advancing years she is still sound of mind ( though very hard of hearing ) and has not left her apartment in Verbania, a town on Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, for 20 years.
"I eat two eggs a day, and that's it - and cookies - but I do not eat much because I have no teeth," she says. "People come. I don't invite anybody but they come. From America, Switzerland, Austria, Turin, Milan... They come from all over to see me."
When asked before the big day if she'd be eating any birthday cake however she wasn't too keen.
"The last time I ate a little, but then I did not feel good," she said.