Longevity stories

In the Bible, there are many stories of persons living for well over a hundred years – some for several hundred.

[Note: I correct common translational errors in the Genesis 5 genealogy in Restored English Translation of Genesis: Chapter 5; the following list represents the true ages of the Genesis 5 patriarchs, which while sometimes shorter than traditionally given, are still pretty damn long!]

Adam – 930

Seth – 912

Enos – 905

Cainan – 910

Mahalalel – 895

Jared – 847

Enoch – 365 (he would have been considered a spring chicken!)

Methuselah – 720

Lamech – 653

Noah – 950

And there are many more examples one could give.  Many consider these as “proof” that the Bible is a bunch of fairy stories.  After all, how could anyone live so long?

Science, however, has found that there is theoretically no limit to how long a human may live.  In fact, there is a gene present in humans that, when “turned on”, would allow humans to live for hundreds of years.  It is currently turned “off” in most people.  And Yehovah/God said that “his [man’s] days will be 120 years” (Beresheet/Genesis 6:3), so no-one since very ancient times has lived for hundreds of years.

Or have they? What YAH said in Genesis was actually referring to how many years there were until the Flood.  While it could apply to human lifespan – and generally appears to nowadays – the historical record provides some dispute of that.

The oldest modern person whose age historians are willing to acknowledge was Jeanne Calment (1875-1997), who died at the age of 122.  However, there are records of much older persons.

The following are all living people who are older than 120:

• Salma Abdulqadir (born 1897), aged 121; resident of Iraq
• Swami Sivananda (born 1896), aged 121; resident of India
• Tanzilya Bisembeyeva (born 1896), aged 122; resident of Russia
• Appaz Ilev (born 1896), aged 122; resident of Russia
• Juana Sanchez Lopez (born 1896), aged 122; resident of Mexico
• Tian Longyu (born 1893), aged 125; resident of China
• Ajiben Chandravadia (born 1891), aged 127; resident of India
• Maria Lucimar Pereira (born 1890), aged 127; resident of Brazil
• Koku Istambulova (born 1889), aged 129; resident of Russia

Other persons who have lived to similar ages are:

Name	Sex	Reported birth date	Death date or latest report	Reported age	Place of death/latest residence
Zhang Daoling[106]	M	15 January 34	9 September 156	122 years, 238 days	Han Dynasty
William Johnson[70]	M	8 May 1881	15 May 2009	128 years, 7 days	United States
Turupu Aimaiti[101][102]	M	5 February 1892	fl. 26 February 2015	123 years, 21 days	China
Tshinyelo Dora Muzila[77]	F	4 May 1880	14 January 2008	127 years, 255 days	South Africa
Swami Kalyan Dev[65]	M	26 June 1876	12 July 2004	128 years, 16 days	India
Shukhrat Aliyeva[104]	F	1 January 1887	1 December 2009	122 years, 334 days	Brazil
Sarah Hoover[65]	F	25 June 1874	15 December 1996	122 years, 173 days	United States
Safiah Ujang[67]	F	11 February 1889	26 October 2017	128 years, 257 days	Malaysia
Petronila Opol[64]	F	21 October 1851	7 February 1981	129 years, 109 days	Philippines
Oberia Coffin[65]	F	1 December 1883	18 October 2006	122 years, 321 days	United States
Nuri Öztunç[83]	M	1 July 1885	6 March 2011	125 years, 248 days	Turkey
Nicolas Savin[78]	M	17 April 1768	29 November 1894	126 years, 226 days	Russia
Nguyễn Thị Trù[99][100]	F	4 May 1893	12 July 2016	123 years, 69 days	Vietnam
Nehemiah Ndur[105]	M	25 February 1890	10 December 2012	122 years, 289 days	Nigeria
Mary Ewen[66]	F	5 May 1878	10 April 2007	128 years, 340 days	Jamaica
Mariam Amash[88][89][90]	F	c. 1888	22 December 2012	approx. 124 years	Israel
Maria Verissimo de Matos[86][87]	F	5 June 1888	17 June 2012	124 years, 12 days	Brazil
Maria Gonçalves dos Santos[79]	F	24 June 1890	15 December 2016	126 years, 174 days	Brazil
Maria Etelvina dos Santos[65]	F	15 July 1878	8 March 2003	124 years, 236 days	Brazil
Maria do Carmo Gerônimo[65]	F	5 March 1871	14 June 2000	129 years, 101 days	Brazil
Margarita Lacsi[80][81][82]	F	30 March 1878	27 May 2004	126 years, 58 days	Argentina
Mamie Evans[65]	F	2 July 1872	15 January 1995	122 years, 197 days	United States
Luo Meizhen[71][72]	F	9 July 1885	9 June 2013	127 years, 335 days	China
Luang Pu Chant Siri[74][75]	M	10 April 1849	23 February 1977	127 years, 319 days	Thailand
Live Larsdatter[103]	F	6 August 1575	9 July 1698	122 years, 337 days	Denmark
Leandra Becerra Lumbreras	F	31 August 1887	19 March 2015	127 years, 200 days	Mexico
Juana Chox Yac[91][92][93][94]	F	29 November 1893	27 September 2017	123 years, 302 days	Guatemala
Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodríguez[73]	F	2 February 1885	24 December 2012	127 years, 326 days	Cuba
Juan Ramos[65]	M	24 June 1880	24 January 2006	125 years, 214 days	United States
José del Rosario Serrano[68][69]	M	5 March 1881	24 April 2009	128 years, 50 days	Colombia
José Aguinelo dos Santos[63]	M	7 July 1888	20 December 2017	129 years, 166 days	Brazil
Jackson Pollock[65]	M	25 December 1869	7 September 1995	125 years, 304 days	United States
Hu Yeh-mei[84]	F	10 February 1885	24 August 2009	124 years, 195 days	Taiwan
Hava Rexha[65]	F	14 August 1880	8 November 2003	123 years, 86 days	Albania
Halim Solmaz[76]	F	1 July 1884	29 March 2012	127 years, 272 days	Turkey
Elizabeth Israel[65]	F	27 January 1875	14 October 2003	128 years, 260 days	Dominica
Dora Jacobs[65]	F	6 May 1880	19 January 2003	122 years, 258 days	South Africa
Daw Mya Kyi[95][96][97][98]	F	9 October 1892	fl. 17 May 2016	123 years, 221 days	Myanmar
David Peterson[65]	M	22 November 1850	31 May 1973	122 years, 190 days	United States
Cruz Hernández[65]	F	3 May 1878	8 March 2007	128 years, 309 days	El Salvador
Carmelo Flores Laura	M	16 July 1890	9 June 2014	123 years, 328 days	Bolivia
Benito Martínez Abrogán[65]	M	19 June 1880	11 October 2006	126 years, 114 days	Cuba
Arthur Reed[65]	M	28 June 1860	15 April 1984	123 years, 292 days	Brazil
Armando Frid[65][85]	M	24 May 1866	28 July 1990	124 years, 65 days	Argentina
Anna Visser[65]	F	25 December 1878	8 January 2004	125 years, 14 days	Namibia
Ana Martinha da Silva[65]	F	25 August 1880	27 July 2004	123 years, 337 days	Brazil
Ali Ben Mohamed El Amri[61][62]	M	5 October 1880	30 September 2010	129 years, 360 days	Tunisia
Aberewa Grace[65]	F	16 August 1878	18 January 2004	125 years, 155 days	Ghana

Source: Longevity Claims.

And these are the MILD cases of longevity!

This list includes modern claims of longevity of 130 and older.

Name	Alleged birthday	Death	Alleged age	Country	Notes and references
Abdel Wali Numan	1865	2007	142	Yemen	[34]
Aisha Heddou	1865	Living?	152–153	Morocco	[35]
Ajko Omerovitch	1804	1934-12	133–134	Bosnia and Herzegovina	[36]
Alhaji Abdu Sikola	1880	2015-04-26	134–135	Nigeria	[37]
Ali Al-Alakmi	1871	2018	146–147	Saudi Arabia	[38]
Ali bin Abdullah bin Ezab	1866	2006-12-14	159–160	United Arab Emirates	[39][40]
Ali Mohammed Hussein	1862	1997	134–135	Lebanon	[41]
Anton Pilya	1830	1965	134–135	Georgia	[42]
Antisa Khvichava	1880	2012	132	Georgia	[43]
Bashir Al Saalmi	1873	2010	136–137	Oman	[44]
Bir Narayan Chaudhary	1856	1998	141–142	Nepal

Details Reportedly lived to age 142, though he had no birth certificate to authenticate this because such documents did not exist in rural Nepal at the time of his reported birth.[45] However, in 1998 King Birendra of Nepal recognized and honored the elderly resident of the small Tharu village of Aamjhoki in Nepal’s Tarai region as the oldest man in the kingdom.[46] His age of 142 was meticulously verified by Nepal’s Ministry of Archaeology based on astrological charts made at the time of his birth.[citation needed]
Cécilé Tshibola	1880	2010	129–130	Congo-Kinshasa	[47]
Charlie Smith	1842	1979	136–137	United States

Details [48] Prior to Smith’s death, the Guinness Book of World Records had called his claim into question, noting that Smith’s marriage certificate from 1910 stated that he was 35 years old at the time, which would make him 104 years old at the time of his death.[49]
Chesten Marchant	1511	1676	164–165	United Kingdom

Details Said to have been the last monolingual speaker of Cornish, died in 1676 at Gwithian, Cornwall. She is reported to have reached the age of 164 by one source (the claim apparently going back to either William Scawen[50] or, according to Henry Jenner, to William Borlase.)[51]
Colestein Veglin	1261–1260	? (arrested in 1876)	615	United States

Details According to the July 20, 1876 edition of The New York Times,[52] a man arrested in Newark, NJ named Colestein Veglin claimed to be 615 years old and to have 6 wives, all living. Following this proclamation, he was taken to an insane asylum for two days.[53]
Dhaqabo Ebba	1853	2015-06-10	161–162	Ethiopia

Details A farmer living in Oromia, Ethiopia and, being 162 years old, purported to be the World’s Oldest Person. He claimed to remember the 1895 Italian invasion of Ethiopia and that at the time he had 2 wives and a son old enough to herd cattle. Prior to his death, he laid claim to the largest extended family in his region and had allegedly seen his great-grandchildren into adulthood. He died at 11:30 pm on 10 May 2015, at the supposed age of 163 years, survived by, among others, an allegedly 128-year-old son, Ahmed Daqabo (b.1886/7). Like most rural Ethiopians, Ebba did not possess a birth certificate and his age cannot, therefore, be verified.[54][55][56]
Mrs. Eckleston	1548	1691	143	United Kingdom

Details From Philipstown, King’s County.[57]
Felix Bocobo	1833-10-3	1963-10-16	130	Philippines	[58]
Feroz-ud-Din Mir	1872-03-10	2014-08-29	142	Pakistan	[59]
Gabriel Umeh Enemuo	1864	2015-04-28	150–151	Nigeria	[60]
Halime Olcay	1874-07-01	Living?	144	Turkey	[61][62]
Henry Jenkins	1501	1670-12	168–169	United Kingdom

Details A brief biography of Henry Jenkins, of Ellerton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, was written by Anne Saville in 1663 based on Jenkins’s description, stating birth in 1501; he also claimed to recall the 1513 Battle of Flodden Field.[63] However, Jenkins also testified in 1667, in favor of Charles Anthony in a court case against Calvert Smythson, that he was then only 157–thereabouts.[64] He was born in Bolton-on-Swale,[33] and the date given, 17 May 1500,[65] results in only a 1-year discrepancy with the age of 169 on his monument (he died 8 December 1670).[66]
James Olofintuyi	1844-08-16	Living?	173	Nigeria	[67]
Javier Pereira	1789	1955–58	165–169	Colombia

Details A Zenú Indian from Colombia who was reputedly over 160 years old at the time of his death. Although his death is variously said to have been in 1955, 1956, and 1958, sources all claim that he was born in 1789.[68]
Johanna Ramatse	1883-01-01	2017-05-31	134	South Africa	[69]
Jon Andersson	1582-02-18	1729-04-18	147	Sweden	[70]
Josefa Molina Lantz	1831-04-30	2006	174–175	Venezuela	[71]
Joseph Surrington	1637	1797	159–160	United Kingdom	[33]
Khanum Hasno	1877	2013	135–136	Afghanistan	[72]
Klayonoh Bleaorplue	1863-03-07	2016-08-02	153	Liberia	[73]
Li Ching Yuen	1677 / 1736	1933	196–197 / 255–256	Republic of China  Qing Dynasty

Details A New York Times story announced the death on 5 May 1933 in Kai Xian, Sichuan, at the age of 197, of the Republic of China‘s Li Ching-Yuen (李青云, Li Qing Yun), who claimed to be born in 1736.[74] A Time article noted that “respectful Chinese preferred to think” Li was 150 in 1827 (birth 1677), based on a government congratulatory message, and died at age 256.[75] T’ai chi ch’uan master Da Liu stated that Li learned qigong from a hermit over age 500.[76]
Louisa Truxo	1610	1785	174–175	Argentina

Details The London Chronicle on 5 September 1785, reported the history of Louisa Truxo, who supposedly lived until the age of 175 years (1610?–1785).[77]
Maftei Pop	1804-06-12	1952-03-15	147	Romania	[78]
Margaret Patten	1601–1602	1739	137	United Kingdom	[32]
Maritina Vangatala	1879	Living?	138–139	Solomon Islands	[79]
Maria Olivia da Silva	1880-02-28	2010-07-08	130	Brazil	[80][81][82]
Mohammed bin Masoud	1861	2014-02-27	152–153	Oman	[83]
Mohammed bin Zarei	1858–1859	2013	153–155	Saudi Arabia	[84]
Moloko Temo	1874-07-04	2009-09-03	135	South Africa	[85]
Mubarak Rahmani Messe	1874	2014-01-11	140	Algeria

Details Died in 2014, allegedly at 140 years of age, in El Oued Province, Algeria, and was survived by 100 grandsons. According to family members, Rahmani had spent much of his early life in the Algerian Desert and later held various challenging occupations, including in construction, farming and herding. He was hospitalised for the first time in 2012, with a stomach complaint. His diet, referred to as “natural”, consisted largely of dates, wheat flour, sheep’s milk, and green tea.[86]
Mzee Barnabas Kiptanui Arap Rop	1879	2012-03-08	132–133	Kenya	[87]
Ntame Zambezi	1880	2011-07-13	131–130	Botswana	[88]
Omar Abas	1857-09-26	2002-09-1/14	144	Malaysia	[89][90][91][92]
Opanyin Kwaku Addae	1851-12-25	2011	159–160	Ghana	[93]
Pa Aki Onoforere	1839	2009	169–170	Nigeria	[94]
Peter Czartan	1539	1724	184	Hungary

Details Netherlands envoy Hamelbraning reported in 1724 of the death in Rofrosh, Hungary, on January 5 of Peter Czartan, reportedly born 1539 and age 184.[33] Charles Hulbert, who reported Czartan’s case in an 1825 collection, added that John (172) and his wife Sara[95] (164) both died in Hungary in 1741 after 148 years of marriage.[33] The Book Validation of Exceptional Longevity has the old couples last name as Rowin,[95] while The Virgin Birth And The Incarnation puts John and Sara’s married name as Rovin.[33]
Peter Torton	1539	1724	185	United Kingdom	[32]
Sarhat Rashidova	1875	2007	131	Russian Empire  Soviet Union  Russia
Shirali Muslimov	1805-03-26	1973-09-04	168	Azerbaijan  Soviet Union

Details An Azerbaijani[96] shepherd with Talysh ethnicity from the village of Barzavu in the Lerik region of Azerbaijan, a mountainous area near the Iranian border. He claimed to be the oldest person who ever lived when he died on September 2, 1973 at the alleged age of 168 years, 162 days, based solely on a passport. National Geographic carried the claim.[97] The oldest woman in the USSR according to the Novosti Press Agency was supposed to have been Ashura Omarova from Daghestan, aged 195.[98][99]
Sylvester Magee	1841-05-29	1971-10-15	130	United States	[100]
Thomas Cam	1381	1588	207	United Kingdom

Details The Shoreditch burial register for 28 January 1588 reads “Aged 207 years. Holywell Street. Thomas Cam”[101]–”Carn”, which supplied a traditional birth year of 1381.[33] According to Old and New London, “the 2 should probably be 1”.[101] Chapter 2 of Falun Gong by Li Hongzhi (2001) states, “According to records, there was a person in Britain named Femcath who lived for 207 years.”[16]
Thomas Damme	1494–1495	1649	154	United Kingdom

Details The parish registers of Church Minshull, in the county of Chester, state, “1649 Thomas Damme of Leighton. Buried the 20th of February, being of the age of Seven-score and fourteen” (154 years), signed by vicar T. Holford and wardens T. Kennerly and John Warburton.[33]
Thomas Parr	1482–1483	1635	152	United Kingdom

Details The case as recorded in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. William Harvey carried out a postmortem on him, according to Easton. Parr is buried in Westminster Abbey with his alleged age on the gravestone.
Thomas Newman	1388–1389	1542	153	United Kingdom

Details A tombstone in Brislington, Bristol, reads, “1542 THOMAS NEWMAN AGED 153 This Stone was new faced in the Year 1771 to Perpetuate the Great Age of the Deceased.”[102]
Turinah	1853-06-07	2012-06-07	159	Indonesia  Dutch East Indies	[103][104][105]
Tuti Yusupova	1880-07-01	2015-03-28	134	Uzbekistan	[106]
Waebido Ayohayi	1886	Living?	131–132	Thailand	(RTGS from Thai: แวบีเดาะ อาเยาะหะยี) (born 1886)[107][108][109]
William Edwards	1499–1500	1668-02-24	168	United Kingdom

Details A tombstone in Cachen churchyard near Cardiff, Glamorganshire, read, “Heare lieth the body of WILLIAM EDWARDS, of the Cairey, who departed this life the 24th of February, Anno Domini 1668, anno aetatis suae one hundred and sixty-eight”.[33]
Wordu Grace Wamanda	1869-05	2014-10	145	Nigeria	[110]

Source: Longevity “myths”

Piast Kołodziej, king of Poland, died in 861 at the alleged age of 120 (birth 740/741).^[32]

Welsh bard Llywarch Hen (Heroic Elegies) died c. 500 in the parish of Llanvor, traditionally about age 150.^[33]

The first 18 or so kings of Vietnam all lived for over 200 years.  Some of their reigns were over 100 years.  Here is the list:

1. Kinh Dương Vương – 260 years old – Reign: 215 years.
2. Lạc Long Quân (Hùng Hiền Vương) – 506 years old – Reign: 400 years.
3. Hùng Quốc Vương – 260 years old – Reign: 221 years.
4. Hùng Diệp Vương  – 646 years old – Reign: 300 years.
5. Hùng Hy Vương – 599 years old – Reign: 200 years.
6. Hùng Huy Vương – 500 years old – Reign: 87 years.
7. Hùng Chiêu Vương – 692 years old -Reign: 200 years.
8. Hùng Vi Vương – 642 years old – Reign: 100 years.
9. Hùng Định Vương – 602 years old – Reign: 80 years.
10. Hùng Uý Vương – 512 years old – Reign: 90 years.
11. Hùng Chinh Vương – 514 years old -Reign:107 years.
12. Hùng Vũ Vương – 456 years old – Reign: 96 years.
13. Hùng Việt Vương – 502 years old – Reign: 105 years.
14. Hùng Ánh Vương – 386 years old – Reign: 99 years.
15. Hùng Triều Vương – 286 years old -Reign: 94 years.
16. Hùng Tạo Vương – 273 years old – Reign: 92 years.
17. Hùng Nghị Vương – 217 years old – Reign: 160 years.
18. Hùng Duệ Vương – 221 years old – Reign: 150 years.

In Roman times, Pliny wrote about longevity records from the census carried out in 74 AD under Vespasian. In one region of Italy many people allegedly lived past 100; four were said to be 130, others even older. The ancient Greek author Lucian is the presumed author of Macrobii (long-livers), a work devoted to longevity. Most of the examples Lucian gives are what would be regarded as normal long lifespans (80–100 years).

• Tiresias, the blind seer of Thebes, was alive for over 600 years (Lucian).
• Nestor lived over 300 years (Lucian).
• According to one tradition, Epimenides of Crete (7th, 6th centuries BC) lived nearly 300 years.^[28]

The following are the reigns of some ancient Persian monarchs:

 

• Jamshid, 700 years.
• Fereydun, 500 years.
• Askani, 200 years.
• Kay Kāvus, 150 years.
• Manuchehr, 120 years.
• Lohrasp, 120 years.
• Goshtasp, 120 years.

Some early emperors of Japan ruled for more than a century, according to the tradition documented in the Kojiki, viz., Emperor Jimmu and Emperor Kōan.

• Emperor Jimmu (traditionally, 13 February 711 BC – 11 March 585 BC) lived 126 years according to the Kojiki. These dates correspond to 126 years, 27 days, on the proleptic Julian and Gregorian calendars.

In ancient China:

 

• Fu Xi (伏羲) was supposed to have lived for 197 years.^[24]
• Lucian wrote about the “Seres” (a Chinese people), claiming they lived for over 300 years.
• Zuo Ci who lived during the Three Kingdoms Period was said to have lived for 300 years.
• In Chinese legend, Peng Zu was believed to have lived for over 800 years^[25] during the Yin Dynasty (殷朝, 16th to 11th centuries BC)

According to 19th-century scholars, Abdul Azziz al-Hafeed al-Habashi (عبد العزيزالحبشي) lived 673/674 Gregorian years or 694/695 Islamic years, from 581–1276 of the Hijra.^[21]

Like Methuselah in Judaism, Bhishma among the Hindus is believed to have lived to a very advanced age and is a metaphor for immortality. His life spans four generations and considering that he fought for his great-nephews in the Mahabharata War who were themselves in their 70s and 80s, it is estimated that Bhishma must have been between 130 and 370 years old at the time of his death.

• Devraha Baba (?–1990) was at least 250 (according to family records), but rumored to have claimed to be over 700 years old (perhaps up to 750).^[17]
• Trailanga Swami reportedly lived in Kashi since 1737;^[18] the journal Prabuddha Bharata puts his birth around 1607 and his age 279 (almost 280),^[19] upon his death in 1887.^[18] His birth is also given as 1527 (age 359/360).^{[20][need quotation to verify]}
• The sadhaka Lokenath Brahmachari reportedly lived 1730–1890 (age 159/160).^[18]
• Shivapuri Baba, also known as Swami Govindanath Bharati, was a Hindu saint who purportedly lived from 1826 to 1963, making him allegedly 137 years old at the time of his death. He had 18 audiences with Queen Victoria.

Chapter 2 of Falun Gong by Li Hongzhi (2001) states, “A person in Japan named Mitsu Taira lived to be 242 years old. During the Tang Dynasty in our country, there was a monk called Hui Zhao [慧昭, 526–815^[15]] who lived to be 290 [288/289] years old.

• Around 1912, the Maharishi of Kailas was said by missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh to be an over-300-year-old Christian hermit in a Himalayan mountain cave with whom he spent some time in deep fellowship. Singh said the Maharishi was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and baptized by the nephew of St. Francis Xavier.^[13]
• Scolastica Oliveri is said to have lived in Bivona, Italy, 1448–1578 (age 129/130), according to the archive of Monastero di San Paolo in Bivona located in Palermo.^[14]

Ever heard of the Count of Saint Germain?  He appeared in Europe in the very early 1700s.  An occultist, he was part of many secret societies, including the Freemasons and Rosicrucians.  He always appeared to be in his mid-40s, or perhaps 50s – no matter how many years went by.  His birthdate is unknown, but he is recorded as having died in 1784.  Problem: he was definitely alive after then, and sightings of him continued into the 1900s.  The following article explains:

When the man who first became known as Saint-Germain was born is unknown, although most accounts say he was born in the 1690s. A genealogy compiled by Annie Besant for her co-authored book, The Comte De St. Germain: The Secret of Kings, asserts that he was born the son of Francis Racoczi II, Prince of Transylvania in 1690.

What is almost unanimously agreed on, however, is that Saint-Germain became accomplished in the art of alchemy, the mystical “science” that strives to control the elements. The foremost goal of this practice was the creation of “projection powder” or the elusive “philosopher’s stone,” which, it was claimed, when added to the molten form of such base metals as lead could turn them into pure silver or gold. Furthermore, this magical power could be used in an elixir that would impart immortality on those who drank it. Count de Saint-Germain, it is believed, discovered this secret of alchemy.

Courting European Society

Saint-Germain first came into prominence in the high society of Europe in 1742. He had just spent five years in the Shah of Persia’s court where he had learned the jeweler’s craft. He beguiled the royals and the rich with his vast knowledge of science and history, his musical ability, his easy charm and quick wit. He spoke many languages fluently, including French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and English, and was further familiar with Chinese, Latin, Arabic — even ancient Greek and Sanskrit. 

It might have been his extraordinary learnedness that led acquaintances to see that he was a remarkable man, but an anecdote from 1760 most likely gave rise to the notion that Saint-Germain could be immortal. In Paris that year, Countess von Georgy heard that a Count de Saint-Germain had arrived for a soiree at the home of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France. The elderly countess was curious because she had known a Count de Saint-Germain while in Venice in 1710. Upon meeting the count again, she was astonished to see that he hadn’t appeared to age and asked him if it was his father she knew in Venice.

“No, Madame,” he replied, “but I myself was living in Venice at the end of the last and the beginning of this century; I had the honor to pay you court then.”

“Forgive me, but that it impossible!” the perplexed countess said. “The Count de Saint-Germain I knew in those days was at least forty-five years old. And you, at the outside, are that age at present.”

“Madame, I am very old,” he said with a knowing smile.

“But then you must be nearly 100 years old,” said the astonished countess.

“That is not impossible,” the count told her matter-of-factly, then continued to convince the countess that he was indeed the same man she knew with the details of their previous meetings and of life in Venice 50 years earlier.

Ever Present, Never Aging

Saint-Germain traveled extensively throughout Europe over the next 40 years — and in all that time never seemed to age. Those who met him were impressed by his many abilities and peculiarities:

• He could play the violin like a virtuoso.
• He was an accomplished painter.
• Wherever he traveled, he set up an elaborate laboratory, presumably for his alchemy work.
• He seemed to be a man of great wealth but was not known to have any bank accounts. (If it was due to his ability to transmute base metals into gold, he never performed the feat for observers.)
• He dined often with friends because he enjoyed their company, but was rarely seen to eat food in public. He subsisted, it was said, on a diet of oatmeal.
• He prescribed recipes for the removal of facial wrinkles and for dyeing hair.
• He loved jewels, and much of his clothing — including his shoes — were studded with them.
• He had perfected a technique for painting jewels.
• He claimed to be able to fuse several small diamonds into one large one. He also said he could make pearls grow to incredible sizes.
• He has been linked to several secret societies, including the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, Society of Asiatic Brothers, the Knights of Light, the Illuminati and Order of the Templars.

 

The renowned 18th philosopher, Voltaire — himself a respected man of science and reason — said of Saint-Germain that he is “a man who never dies, and who knows everything.”

Throughout the 18th century, Count de Saint-Germain continued to use his seemingly endless knowledge of the world in the politics and social intrigues of the European elite:

• The 1740s he became a trusted diplomat in the court of King Louis XV of France, performing secret missions for him in England.
• In 1760 he performed a similar function at the Hague, where he met the infamous lover, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova. Casanova later said of Saint-Germain, “This extraordinary man… would say in an easy, assured manner that he was 300 years old, that he knew the secret of the Universal Medicine, that he possessed a mastery over nature, that he could melt diamonds… all this, he said, was mere trifle to him.”
• In 1762 he traveled to Russia where it is said he was complicit in a conspiracy that placed Catherine the Great on the throne. He later advised the commander of the imperial Russian armies in the war against Turkey (which they won).
• In 1774 he returned to France when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette occupied the throne. He allegedly warned them of the revolution that was to come 15 years in the future.

In 1779 he went to Hamburg, Germany, where he befriended Prince Charles of Hesse-Cassel. For the next five years, he lived as a guest in the prince’s castle at Eckernförde. And, according to local records, that is where Saint-Germain died on February 27, 1784.

Back From the Dead

For any ordinary mortal, that would be the end of the story. But not for Count de Saint-Germain. He would continue to be seen throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century.

• In 1785 he was seen in Germany with Anton Mesmer, the pioneer hypnotist. (Some claim that it was Saint-Germain who gave Mesmer the basic ideas for hypnotism and personal magnetism.)
• Official records of Freemasonry show that they chose Saint-Germain as their representative for a convention in 1785.
• After the taking of the Bastille in the French Revolution in 1789, the Comtesse d’Adhémar said she had a lengthy conversation with Count de Saint-Germain. He allegedly told her of France’s immediate future, as if he knew what was to come. In 1821, she wrote: “I have seen Saint-Germain again, each time to my amazement. I saw him when the queen [Antoinette] was murdered, on the 18th of Brumaire, on the day following the death of the Duke d’Enghien, in January, 1815, and on the eve of the murder of the Duke de Berry.” The last time she saw him was in 1820 — and each time he looked to be a man no older than his mid-40s.

After 1821, Saint-Germain may have taken on another identity. In his memoirs, Albert Vandam wrote of meeting a man who bore a striking resemblance to Count de Saint-Germain, but who went by the name of Major Fraser. Vandam wrote:

“He called himself Major Fraser, lived alone and never alluded to his family. Moreover he was lavish with money, though the source of his fortune remained a mystery to everyone. He possessed a marvelous knowledge of all the countries in Europe at all periods. His memory was absolutely incredible and, curiously enough, he often gave his hearers to understand that he had acquired his learning elsewhere than from books. Many is the time he has told me, with a strange smile, that he was certain he had known Nero, had spoken with Dante, and so on.”

Major Fraser disappeared without a trace.

Between 1880 and 1900, Saint-Germain’s name once again became prominent when members of the Theosophical Society, including famed mystic Helena Blavatsky, claimed that he was still alive and working toward the “spiritual development of the West.” There is even an allegedly genuine photo taken of Blavatsky and Saint-Germain together. And in 1897, the famous French singer Emma Calve dedicated an autographed portrait of herself to Saint-Germain.

While St Germain’s exact age is impossible to ascertain (partly due to his own conflicting accounts as to his age), he was evidently a long liver.  One wonders: how old was he in the 1700s, and much more importantly, if he’s still alive, how old is he now?!

http://authorscalendar.info/germain.htm

https://coolinterestingstuff.com/the-strange-mystery-of-saint-germain-the-immortal-count

And then, of course, there is the case of Billafunda (Siddha) Sayadawa U.Kowida, who was apparently born in 908, and was reported as still alive (with a photo) in 2013[1].  Assuming he is still alive, he is 1110 years old, and the oldest KNOWN living person (although St Germain could potentially rival him).  A Buddhist monk living in Burma, he went through some occult-like ceremony to gain his longevity.

I’m sure this information has blown your mind, like it blew mine (and still does). They say the truth is stranger than fiction, and that sure as hell is true!