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World's Oldest Man Dies In New York At 112
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 15, 2013
Modified Sep 15, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 15, 2013
Modified Sep 15, 2013
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The world's oldest man according to the Guinness World Records, Salustiano Sanchez-Blazquez, has died at the age of 112. Sanchez-Blazquez died Friday in a nursing home in Grand Island, NY. When he was named world's oldest man earlier this summer, his response was, "I’m an old man and let’s leave it at that."
Sanchez-Blazquez was born on June 8th, 1901, in the village of El Tejado de Bejar, Spain. He came to the US in 1920 and worked in the coal mines of Lynch, Kentucky before moving to the Niagara Falls area, where he worked in construction and in the industrial furnaces. He loved music and taught himself to play the dulzaina, a double-reed wind instrument. He had two children, seven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
He credited his long life to eating a banana per day and a daily dose of six Anacin tablets. His daughter had another theory: “I think it’s just because he’s an independent, stubborn man,” said 69-year-old Irene Johnson.
The leading candidate for world's oldest man is 111-year-old Arturo Licata of Italy; the world's current oldest woman is 115-year-old Misao Okawa of Japan. However, Bolivian man Carmelo Flores Laura claims he's the oldest on Earth currently, at 123-years-old. That of course pales in comparison to Ethiopian Dhaqabo Ebba, who claims he is 160-years-old.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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