On Monday at the age of 146, the world’s oldest man passed away. Mbah Gotho possessed documents stating his date of birth to be December 31, 1870. Gotho lived in Sragen, Central Java, Indonesia, where he chained smoked and listened to the radio, while also being known as a ladies man. He also went by Sodimedjo, which is the name on his identification card.
Gotho outlived all 10 of his siblings, his four wives, all of his children, and now lived with his grandchildren. In 1992, he started to prepare for his death, and, when he finally passed, the same predesigned gravestone was used. His grandson stated he did not want much before he died, just to be with family and that his family would let him go.
Gotho is considered part of a group of supercentenarians, or humans who are reached over the age of 100 — specifically, past 110 years old. According to the Gerontology Research Group, the current oldest living humans are all women with the oldest at 117 years old, and the closest male comes in as 15th oldest living human at 113 years old.
Of course, there is much speculation regarding the authenticity of Gotho’s documents. If they are correct, he would beat the Guinness World Record for oldest human by 24 years. The current holder is a French woman named Jeanne Louise Calmet, who died in a nursing home back in 1997 at the age of 122 years. Indonesian authorities have verified the identification papers, even though his birth is 30 years before local birth records began. The Daily Mail reports Gotho remembered the opening of a factory in 1880, putting him at just 10 years old.
Gotho stated he was ready to die, and who would blame him? He lived through two World Wars, two new turns of the century, and countless other humankind milestones — talk about living life to the fullest!
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