At 111 years and 224 days old, John Alfred Tinniswood from England has officially claimed the title of world’s oldest living man.
Guinness World Records made the announcement on Friday, two days after announcing the death of former title holder Juan Vicente Pérez at the age of 114, a month shy of his 115th birthday.
“You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it,” Tinniswood said in an interview with Guinness in which he was presented with his certificate.
While Tinniswood, who does not smoke, rarely drinks and has fish and chips every Friday, said the secret to longevity is “just luck,” he advised on moderation in life: “If you drink too much or you eat too much or you walk too much; if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually.”
Born in the northwestern English city of Liverpool on August 26, 1912, Tinniswood has lived through two world wars – as well as the Great Influenza and Covid-19 pandemics – and also holds the record for world’s oldest surviving male World War II veteran, according to Guinness. He was born the same year the Titanic sank.
He is a lifelong fan of Liverpool football club, and has lived through all nineteen of his club’s league title wins and all eight of his club’s FA cup wins.
The great-grandfather currently resides in a care home in the English seaside town of Southport.
Care home manager Katie Howard told the BBC it was an honor to care for Tinniswood, an “amazing individual with so many stories to tell,” who “enjoys reading the paper and listening to the radio.”
The world’s oldest living woman is 117-year-old Maria Branyas Morera and lives in Spain.