"Ethel Catterham," an English woman, celebrated her 117th birthday, becoming the first English person to reach this age and holding the title of the world's oldest living person.,
On 21 August 2026 GMT+7, international news agencies reported that Mrs. Ethel Catterham, an elderly English woman officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person, celebrated her 117th birthday at a nursing home in Surrey, about 40 kilometers southwest of London.
Mrs. Catterham said she was happy to celebrate her birthday with family and friends and looked forward to what the next year would bring. Joel Marinho Neto, a Brazilian man who is the oldest living man in the world, also sent her birthday wishes.
Mrs. Catterham was born on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, in southern England. She is the second youngest of eight siblings and is the last living person born during the reign of King Edward VII.
At age 18, she traveled alone to India and worked as a nanny for a military family. She met British Army officer Major Norman Catterham at a dinner in 1931 and married him two years later. The couple had two daughters, both of whom have passed away; her husband died in 1976. She currently has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren.
Throughout her 117 years, Catterham has witnessed many major historical events, including two world wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the Russian Revolution, and the COVID-19 pandemic. She contracted COVID-19 in 2020 at age 110 and is among the oldest survivors of the disease.
However, despite reaching 117 years, Catterham remains younger than the verified record for the longest lifespan, held by Jeanne Calment of France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.
Source: CNN