Nabi Tajima, the world’s oldest person, has died aged 117-years-old in Kikai, Japan. Nabi had reportedly been the last known person born in the 19th century which ended 31 December 1900.
An official confirmed to the Associated Press that Nabi died of old age and had been hospitalised since January. Prior to this, Nabi had been living at a nursing facility for the elderly in her small town of Kikai in southern Japan.
In her country alone, Nabi had been holding the oldest living person title since 2015.
Born on August 4 1900, Nabi reportedly had more than 160 descendants after raising seven sons and two daughters. Of the 160 descendants are multiple great-great-great grandchildren.
Nabi had become the world’s oldest person after 117-year-old Violet Brown died in September 2017.
To put into context just how much life Nabi has lived, she would’ve experienced World War I as a young girl, the sinking of the RMS Titanic, World War II, the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the invention and evolution of the television, and of the telephone just to name a few.
According to the Gerontology Research Group in the United States, another Japanese women named Chiyo Miyako located in the northern parts of the country is set to become the next world’s oldest person when she turns 117 in 10 days.
Japan is also home to the world’s oldest man according to the Guinness World Records. Masazo Nonaka is 112-years-old.
Nabi is now the third oldest person in recorded history. According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest person ever recorded in history is Jeanne Louise Calament who lived up to the age of 122 and 164 days.
