Alexander Imich, 111, oldest man in the world

[Bob Of Burleson]

World's oldest man dies at age 111
By Rande Iaboni, CNN

New York (CNN) -- A 111-year-old New Yorker who had been certified as the oldest man in the world has died.

Alexander Imich died Sunday morning at a senior residence in Manhattan, his niece, Karen Bogen, confirmed to CNN.

Imich was certified as the oldest man in the world this April by the Gerontology Research Group of Torrance, California.

"He was remarkable," Bogen said.

"He was so independent until very recently, and he just had an incredible curiosity about life."

Imich was born in Poland on February 4, 1903, according to a longtime friend in New York, Michael Mannion.

He and his wife, Wela, fled Poland when the Nazis took over, survived a labor camp in Russia and in 1951 moved to the United States, Mannion said.

His wife, who was a prolific artist and therapist in New York, died in 1986, according to Bogen.

"His apartment was filled with her artwork," she said.

They had no children.

. . .

A 116-year-old Japanese woman, Misao Okawa, is the world's oldest living person, according to the Gerontology Research Group. The title of world's oldest man now goes to Sakari Momoi, also of Japan, who was born just a day after Imich in 1903, the group said.

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[Kiamichi]

You sometimes read of reports or studies claiming humans will routinely live to 130 or so in the not far distant future but actually the oldest living persons on earth (genuine verified cases) have consistently been in the 114 year old range as far back as age can be established through documents and other good evidence, with only one person ever reaching the age of 120 (a Frenchwoman who died about 30 years ago). There are just more people living to extreme old age, the maximum life span is not increasing.