World’s Oldest Person Celebrates Turning 117 in Lightwater
BBC News reports that Ethel Caterham, the world’s oldest living person, turned 117 years old on Friday in Surrey, England. She holds this title after the passing of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas in April 2025.
Caterham, born three years before the Titanic disaster and eight years before the Russian Revolution, has lived through two world wars. She is also one of the oldest survivors of COVID-19, contracting it at age 110 in 2020, according to Guinness World Records.
A Life Spanning Centuries:
- Born in 1908, Caterham was the second youngest of eight children.
- As a teenager, she traveled to India and worked as an au pair for a military family.
- In 1931, she met her husband, Norman, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, at a dinner party and later lived in Hong Kong where she established a nursery school. They had two daughters, both of whom passed away before her.
- Her husband died in 1976. One of her sisters, Gladys, also reached the age of 104.
A Royal Encounter:
Last September, King Charles III visited Caterham shortly after her 116th birthday. During their meeting, she shared memories of his investiture as the Prince of Wales in 1969, remarking on the adoration of women towards him at that time.
The Title of Oldest Person Ever:
Despite Caterham’s impressive longevity, the title of the oldest person ever is held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old before her death in 1997.
