Modern Mysteries

Was the oldest woman in history an imposter ?

By T.K. Randall
January 1, 2019 ·  8 comments

Did the real Jeanne Calment die back in 1934 ? Image Credit: PD Reportedly born on February 21st, 1875, Jeanne Louise Calment is widely considered to be the oldest human being who ever lived with a recorded lifespan of 122 years and 164 days.

Calment lived so long that she not only outlived her daughter, but her grandson as well.

Or did she ?

In a new study, Nikolai Zak, a mathematician at Moscow University, has put forward the theory that the woman known as Jeanne Calment was actually Calment's daughter Yvonne.Records show that Yvonne had reportedly died in 1934 of pleurisy, however according to Zak, it is possible that it was her mother who had died and Yvonne had instead taken on her identity.

This means that Calment had been 99, not 122, when she died in 1997.

Nicolas Brouard, the director of research at the French Institute of Demographic Studies, has since called for the bodies of both women to be exhumed so that further testing can be carried out.

If Calment's claim is rendered void, the record will pass to Sarah Knauss who died in 1999 aged 119.

Source: Fox News | Comments (8)

Tags: Jeanne Calment