Christian Mortensen

For the Danish ornithologist, see Hans Christian Cornelius Mortensen.

Christian Mortensen
Born	Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen August 16, 1882(1882-08-16) Skårup, Skanderborg, Denmark
Died	April 25, 1998(1998-04-25) (aged &10000000000000115000000115 years, &10000000000000252000000252 days) San Rafael, California, United States
Residence	California
Occupation	Tailor, farmhand
Known for	Oldest undisputed man ever Oldest Danish person ever Oldest emigrant ever
Home town	Skanderborg
Title	Supercentenarian

Birth record of Christian Mortensen

Thomas Peter Thorvald Kristian Ferdinand Mortensen (August 16, 1882 – April 25, 1998), known as an adult as Christian Mortensen, was a Danish supercentenarian.^[1] At the time of his death he was 115 years and 252 days old—the longest fully authenticated lifespan of any male in history.^[2] He was the first undisputed man to reach 114 and 115 years of age and one of only two verifiably known to reach 115, the other being Emiliano Mercado del Toro. In addition to being the oldest person born in Denmark, Mortensen is also distinctive as the oldest person ever of all the Nordic countries, the second-oldest person ever from Europe and the oldest emigrant ever.

Mortensen was baptized in Fruering Church on December 26, 1882.^[3] Besides his baptismal record, other records include the 1890 and 1901 census enumerations in Denmark, and church confirmation in 1896.^[2]

Biography

Christian Mortensen was born the son of a tailor in the village of Skårup, near the city of Skanderborg Denmark, on August 16, 1882. He began work as a tailor's apprentice in Skanderborg at age 16, in 1898, and later took work as a farmhand.^[2]

Mortensen emigrated to the United States in 1903. He traveled while working as a tailor but settled in Chicago where he had relatives. Mortensen worked various trades including as a milkman for Borden's Milk, as a restaurateur, and as a factory worker for the Continental Can Company. He was married for less than ten years, divorced and had no children. He did not remarry.^[2][4]

In 1950, Mortensen retired near Galveston Bay, Texas. Then 28 years later, at the age of 96, he moved to a retirement home in San Rafael, California.^[2] Mortensen claimed he rode his bicycle to the Aldersly Retirement Community, telling the staff that he was there to stay. Mortensen lived at Aldersly until his death in 1998.^[2][5]

Mortensen enjoyed an occasional cigar and insisted that smoking in moderation was not unhealthy. Mortensen preferred a vegetarian diet.^[4] He also drank boiled water. Mortensen was legally blind towards the end of his life and spent much of his time in a wheelchair listening to the radio.^[6]

On his 115th birthday Mortensen gave his advice for a long life: "Friends, a good cigar, drinking lots of good water, no alcohol, staying positive and lots of singing will keep you alive for a long time"^[5]

See also

• List of the verified oldest people
• Oldest people
• Supercentenarian
• American supercentenarians
• Ageing

References

1. ^ New York Times, "Christian Mortensen, 115, Among Oldest," 1998-05-03. Accessed 2007-02-16
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Wilmoth, John; Axel Skytthe, Diana Friou, Bernard Jeune (1996). "The Oldest Man Ever? A Case Study of Exceptional Longevity". The Gerontologist 36 (6): 783–788. http://www2.unca.edu/sociology/docs%20for%20faculty/haas_docs/SOC%20402/The%20Oldest%20Man%20Ever.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-09. 
3. ^ Christian Mortensen's birth record (see image) shows his birthplace as the village of Skårup, Denmark, which was located in Sogn Fruering parish, Herred Hjelmslev Hundred, Skanderborg County, which is now part of Skanderborg municipality.
4. ^ ^{a b} John R. Wilmoth (April 30, 1998). "Tribute to Christian Mortensen, 1882-1998". Department of Demography, University of California, Berkeley. http://demog.berkeley.edu/~jrw/cm.htm. Retrieved 9 September 2010. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Minton, Tori "One of World's Oldest Dies in His Sleep,", San Francisco Chronicle, page A-18, 1998-04-28]. Accessed 2007-02-16
6. ^ "The world's oldest folk. What do they know that we don't?". Observer. 10 August 1997. 

External links

• Scandinavian obituaries: Dagbladet (Norwegian) and Aftonbladet (Swedish)
• Aldersly Garden Retirement Community
• Fruering Church article at Danish Wikipedia

Preceded by Josep Armengol Jover

Oldest recognized living man January 20, 1994 – April 25, 1998

Succeeded by Johnson Parks

Persondata
Name	Mortensen, Christian
Alternative names
Short description	Worlds Second-oldest man
Date of birth	August 16, 1882
Place of birth	Skårup, Skanderborg, Denmark
Date of death	April 25, 1998
Place of death	San Rafael, California, United States