Puerto Rican Farmer, 112, Is the World's Oldest Living Man: 'My Father Raised Me With Love'
Emilio Flores Márquez broke the record previously held by Romania’s Dumitru Comănescu, who died in June 2020
Starting with Theodore Roosevelt, 112-year-old Emilio Flores Márquez has lived through the terms of a whopping 21 U.S. presidents.
Márquez — who, as of Tuesday, is 112 years, 10 months, and 29 days old — was recently confirmed by Guinness World Records to be the world's oldest living man.
Born on Aug. 8, 1908, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Márquez was the second of his parents' 11 children, Guinness World Records said in a statement announcing his milestone.
While growing up on the Caribbean island, Márquez helped water and cut the sugar cane plants on his father's farm. As the oldest brother to his nine surviving siblings, Márquez said he often acted as a parental figure for them.
"I was the oldest of the children, so I did everything," he told the record-keeping organization. "I scrubbed, I took care of the boys, I did everything."
Márquez and his late wife, Andrea Perez, married early on in their lives and were together 75 years until she died in 2010.
The couple had four children together (two of whom are still alive), and today, Márquez has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
"My father raised me with love, loving everyone," Márquez — who was born just 19 days before former President Lyndon B. Johnson and a few weeks ahead of the release of the Ford Model T — told Guinness World Records.
"He always told me and my siblings to do good, to share everything with others," he added. "Besides, Christ lives in me."
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Guinness World Records said Robert Young, senior consultant for gerontology, examined the evidence before confirming Márquez as the world's oldest living man.
Márquez beats the previous oldest living man, Dumitru Comănescu of Romania, who died in June 2020 at 111 years and 219 days, according to Guinness World Records.
The world's current oldest living person is Japan's Kana Tanaka, who is 118 years old.
Before her death in 1997 at age 122, Jeanne Calment was considered the oldest person in history, but that claim is under scrutiny.