Oldest Known Person Dies

A French nun believed to be the world's oldest known person passed away yesterday at the age of 118. Lucile Randon, also known as Sister André, passed away from natural causes in the city of Toulon. Randon, was born while Teddy Roosevelt was president, a year after the first baseball World Series, and four years before the introduction of the Ford Model T. She would have turned 119 years old Feb. 11.

In the US, demographers estimate one in roughly 5,000 people are above the age of 100, a figure that has doubled since 1990. Roughly 85% of centenarians are women—a phenomenon that is not well understood. Supercentenarians, those 110 years old and above, are exceptionally rare, with only 0.1% of people who hit the 100-year milestone living past their 110th birthday.

American Maria Branyas Morera becomes the oldest known person at age 115 (turning 116 in March). See a list of world's oldest known people here.