Besse Cooper, The World's Oldest Person, Passed Away Today At The Age Of 116

Very sad news. Besse Cooper, the World's Oldest Person, passed away today. She was 116 and was the last human being still alive who was born in the year 1896. Her life spanned three centuries.

Besse Cooper was already an adult when the United States entered World War I and middle-aged when World War II started. As some of you know, this year marks the Bicentennial of the War Of 1812 and the continued Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Besse actually lived during a time when Veterans of both conflicts still walked the Earth. She was the absolute last living link to the era of Grover Cleveland's Presidential Administration and was one of the last living vestiges of the Victorian Era.

My blog entry discussing the Last Survivors of 1895 puts the matter into perspective (there were seven people from 1896 still living on May 4, 2010 so Besse kept the year 1896 alive for two years and seven months after the passing of the last person from 1895): http://michaeltheresearcher.blogspot.com/2010/05/last-survivors-born-in-year-1895-have.html

Once again, Besse Cooper was the last verified person on Earth who actually lived in the year 1896 ... her passing closes the chapter on that year forever. RIP. Now there are only 17 verified people who were born in the 1800s remaining. 115-year-old Dina Manfredini is now the World's Oldest Person. She was born on April 4, 1897.