Almihan Seyiti

World’s ‘oldest person ever’ has died at the age of 135

A Chinese woman, theoretically born during the Qing dynasty about 135 years ago.

By Edward Era Barbacena

Almihan Seyiti had seen it all.

A woman believed to have lived to 135 years — the oldest recorded in history — died on Thursday.

The supercentenarian from Xinjiang in Western China, according to Daily Mail, claimed to be born on June 25, 1886, during the imperial Qing dynasty, and was officially declared the nation’s oldest living person in 2013 by the China Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

Seyiti died “peacefully” on Dec. 16, authorities reported on Saturday, while surrounded by family. Married in 1903, she was said to have adopted a boy and a girl with her husband who passed away in 1976 while she went on to see six generations of descendants come to pass. She is survived by many, including 43 grand- and great-grandchildren.

Seyiti’s grandson and primary caretaker Kuerban Nuer said she was getting along well before she passed, riding each day at 10 a.m. to a day filled with music before bed around 11 p.m. He said, “When hearing music from the radio before sleep, her feet would move along with the rhythm.”

Seyiti, an ethnically Uygur woman from Komuxerik in Shule county of Kashgar prefecture, had a government issued identification card to reflect her late-19th century birth date, but some have been skeptical of her longevity due to the poor record-keeping practices that time.

Komuxerik village has been called a “longevity town” by some experts, as the community boasts dozens of seniors aged 90 years and up. This is at least in part owing to the recent “improvement of health services.”

Researchers including representatives from Guinness World Records have not been able to independently verify Seyiti’s age, but, if true, she would have indeed been the oldest person in the world upon her death.

Currently, Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122, officially holds that title although her legitimacy has also been questioned as of late. It’s possible, according to investigators, that the current world record holder had been using her mother’s ID, adding an additional 23 years to her age.

Now, Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman born in January 1903, remains the oldest person alive — reportedly beating cancer twice along the way.

Kane Tanaka remains the oldest person alive now
that Almihan Seyiti has died

And there are others who could have potentially claimed the world’s oldest person title, such as an Indonesian woman who went only by Turinah. According to a 2010 census report, Turinah believed herself to be 157 years old at the time — older than what some scientists believe is possible. However, her identification documents were presumed destroyed to avoid being linked to an alleged communist coup in 1965.

Regardless, the Shule county government put on a birthday party for Seyiti last year to celebrate what was in theory her 135th birthday, for which she donned a paper crown and enjoyed cake with friends and family.