World’s oldest man Mbah Goto celebrates what he claims to be his 146th birthday
He is 19 years older than the official oldest recorded person, Jeanna Calment, who died in 1997
THE oldest man in the world has celebrated his 146th birthday, his family claims.
Saparman Sodimejo, known as Mbah Gotho, cannot remember his birth date but says he can remember the building of a sugar factory in 1880.
According to documents recognised by Indonesian officials, he was born on New Year’s Eve in 1870, but there is doubt surrounding his actual age.
In May 2010 it was reported that the year's census in Indonesia recorded him at 142 years old.
Despite this, his family is adamant he is 146 and a birthday party was held in his honour.
His grandson and grandson's wife came to celebrate with their children Erika Kurniawati and Anisa Kurniawati.
He has outlived all 10 of his siblings as well as his four wives, the last of whom died in 1988.
All of his children have also died, and now he is survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
RELATED STORIES
Suryanto, Mbah Gotho’s grandson, said his grandfather has been preparing for his death ever since he was 122, but it never seemed to come.
He said: “The gravestone there was made in 1992. That was 24 years ago.”
In addition, Suryanto said Mbah Gotho’s family has already prepared a grave site for him – near his children’s graves.
There has been doubt over his age with some experts not believing he is as old as he says
Staff at the Indonesian records office have confirmed Mbah Gotho’s birth date, which is specified on his Indonesian ID card as December 31, 1870.
Whether or not he will ever be listed as the world’s oldest man however is open to question, as the paperwork has so far not been independently verified.
These days, his grandchildren say Mbah Gotho mostly sits listening to the radio because his eyesight is too poor to watch TV.
What has the world's oldest man lived through?
He has lived through two world wars, and would have apparently been 44 when the First World War began.
He was born just before the invention of the first car. Karl Benz from Germany patented the engine in 1879.
He was born six years before Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first US patent for the telephone.
He would have been 33 years old when the first controlled heavier-than-air flight of the Wright Brothers took place, and the first genocide of the 20th century.
He lived through the sinking of the Titanic, the First Blakan War and the end of the Chinese empire in 1912.
He also saw the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the first person to walk on the moon, among countless other world events in the 146 years he is said to have lived.
Recently he has had to be spoon-fed and bathed as he has become more frail, but can often manage walking to a nearby store to buy matches for his smoking habit.
When asked what his secret to longevity is, Mbah Gotho replied: “The recipe is just patience.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368.