World's oldest person, Susannah Mushatt Jones, dies at 116
11:08, 13/05/2016, FridayU: Update: 11:15, 13/05/2016, Friday
Yeni Şafak
The last living American born in 1800s passed away at senior home in New York
The world's oldest person, Susannah Mushatt Jones, has died in New York at the age of 116.
Jones' title as the world's oldest person was verified by Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group (GRC), which verifies and tracks people who are at least 110 years old.
She died last night in her sleep in a chair at the senior home in Brooklyn where she had been living, Robert Douglas Young, co-director of the GRC, said after hearing of her death from the supercentenarian's family.
Young said that Jones had been ill over the past 10 days
The supercentarian was born in a small farm town near Montgomery, Alabama, in 1899. She had 10 siblings and studied at a special school for young black girls. CBCnews said that family members have credited her long life to love of family and generosity to others.
The previous oldest person was Jerelean Talley, who died on June 17 in 2015, at the age of 116. Guinness World Records confirmed Jones to be the oldest person on the planet after Japanese Misao Okawa died in Tokyo at the age of 117.
