Article of the Week - Jeanne Calment

Jeanne Louise Calment (21 February 1875 – 4 August 1997) was a French supercentenarian who had the longest confirmed human lifespan on record, living to the age of 122 years, 164 days.She lived in Arles, France, for her entire life, outliving both her daughter and grandson by several decades. Calment became especially well known from the age of 113, when the centenary ofVincent van Gogh's visit brought reporters to Arles.

Calment became the last living documented person born in the 1870s when the Japanese supercentenarian Tane Ikai (born 1879) died on 12 July 1995. Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented by scientific study. More records have been produced to verify her age than in any other case.

Calment was born in Arles on 21 February 1875. Her father, Nicolas Calment (28 January 1838 – 22 January 1931), was a shipbuilder, and her mother, Marguerite Gilles (20 February 1838 – 18 September 1924), was from a family of millers. She had an older brother, François, (25 April 1865 – 1 December 1962). Some of her close family members also lived an above-average lifespan, although none lived anywhere near as long as Jeanne: her older brother François lived to the age of 97, her father to six days shy of 93, and her mother to 86.

According to Calment, she met Vincent van Gogh at the age of 13, when he came into her uncle's shop to buy canvas in 1888. She found him to be "Dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable.

Calment's remarkable health presaged her later record. At age 85 (1960), she took up fencing, and continued to ride her bicycle up until her 100th birthday. She was reportedly neither athletic nor fanatical about her health.Calment lived on her own until shortly before her 110th birthday, when it was decided that she needed to be moved to a nursing home after a cooking accident (due to complications with sight) started a small fire in her house. However, Calment was still in good shape, and continued to walk until she fractured her femur during a fall at age 114 years 11 months (January 1990), which required surgery.

Calment smoked cigarettes from the age of 21 (1896) to 117 (1992), though according to an unspecified source, she smoked no more than two cigarettes per day towards the end of her life. After her operation, Calment needed to use a wheelchair. In 1994, age 119, she weighed 45 kilograms (99 lb).

Calment ascribed her longevity and relatively youthful appearance for her age to a diet rich in olive oil (which she also rubbed onto her skin), as well as a diet of port wine, and ate nearly one kilogram (2.2 lb) of chocolate every week. She also credited her calmness, saying, "That's why they call me Calment." Calment reportedly remained mentally intact until her very end.

On 4 August 1997, at 22:45 Central European Time, Calment died, aged 122. After her death, 116-year-oldMarie-Louise Meilleur became the oldest recognized living person.