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Geert Adriaans Boomgaard

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Geert Adriaans Boomgaard
Boomgaard at age 100 in 1888
Born(1788-09-21)21 September 1788
Died(1899-02-03)3 February 1899
(aged 110 years, 135 days)
Groningen, Netherlands
Known for
  • First validated supercentenarian
  • Oldest person ever recorded until 1902
  • Oldest male ever recorded until 1966
  • Veteran of the Napoleonic Wars

Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (21 September 1788; baptized 23 September 1788[1] – 3 February 1899) was a Dutch supercentenarian and is generally accepted by scholars as the first validated case on record.[2][3]

Biography

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Early life

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Little is known about Boomgaard's life: he was born in Groningen, Netherlands. His parents were Adriaan Jacobs Boomgaard (1763–1844) and Geesje Geerts Bontekoe (1762–1834).[4] His father was captain on a boat, and civil records say that Geert had the same job.[5][non-primary source needed] In addition to captaining a boat, other sources say that he also served as a soldier in the Dutch-recruited 33e Regiment d'Infanterie Legere (33rd Light Infantry Regiment) in Napoleon's Grande Armée.[6]

Marriages

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Aged 29, on 4 March 1818, Boomgaard married Stijntje Bus (baptized 19 February 1797 – died 24 March 1830).[4][5] Stijntje died aged 33, a month after the birth of their 8th child. A year later, on 17 March 1831, Boomgaard married Grietje Abels Jonker (baptized 19 May 1793 – 18 May 1864),[4] with whom he had four more children, for a total of 12.

Longevity

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Boomgaard at age 110 in 1898

On 8 January 1897, Boomgaard surpassed the final age of Belgian Pierre Darcourt (108 years and 108 days) to become the oldest man ever,[3] and by 10 April 1898, he was older than the previous titleholder, 109-year-old Norwegian woman Kirsti Skagen (1788–1897), therefore making him the oldest ever verified person at that time.[3]

Boomgaard outlived all of his children: his last surviving child, Jansje Hinderika, died aged 56 on 24 May 1885.[7]

Boomgaard died aged 110 years and 135 days. The first female supercentenarian and his successor was Margaret Ann Neve — who surpassed Adriaans' final age, dying at almost 111 (1792–1903) — although his lifespan as the longest-lived male was not surpassed until 29 October 1966 by John Mosely Turner, who died aged 111 years and nine months (1856–1968).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Baptismal certificate 23 September 1788 Groningen Martinikerk. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Table A – Verified Supercentenarians (Listed Chronologically By Birth Date)". Archived from the original on 12 July 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Photo Gallery for Supercentenarians born before 1850, as of May 17, 2019. Gerontology Research Group
  4. ^ a b c "NOORDER RONDBLIK Geert A. Boomgaard uit Groningen werd het oudst van alle Nederlanders". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 3 April 1982. Retrieved 14 March 2019 – via Groninger archieven.
  5. ^ a b "Akte – Groninger Archieven". www.wiewaswie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  6. ^ Derniers vétérans de l'Armée napoléonienne, Premier Empire (in French)
  7. ^ Chambre, Jeune, Poulain (2021). "Geert Adriaans Boomgaard, the First Supercentenarian in History?". ResearchGate: 215.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)