When Jeanne Calment was born, the Eiffel Tower did not yet exist.

When he died, the world was already entering the Internet age.

Between those two moments spent 122 years and 164 days.

Still today, no other person has surpassed his record of longevity.

Jeanne was born on 21 February 1875 in Arles, south of France.

Throughout his life he saw changing the world in a way that few human beings had the chance to observe.

He assisted on the arrival of the car, plane, television, landing on the Moon and the first computers.

He crossed two world wars and saw entire generations happen.

With the passing of the years he became famous not only for his age, but also for his character.

He loved to joke.

When journalists asked her how she felt after over 110 years, she responded with her typical humor:

«I have waited for 110 years to become famous. I want to enjoy it now. »

He also knew Vincent van Gogh when he was still a girl.

He said he had found him a grumpy, uncommon man with uncontrolled clothes, many years before the painter became one of the most famous artists in history.

In 1990, at 114, he even appeared in a film, becoming the oldest person to have starred in a film production.

Many asked her what was the secret of her extraordinary longevity.

She didn't offer magic formulas.

He paid his long life to a set of fortune, serenity and sense of humor.

Scholars, however, recall that extreme longevity depends on many factors, including genetics, lifestyle and case.

Jeanne Calment died on 4 August 1997, at the age of 122 and 164 days.

More than the number of his years, however, affects everything he could see.

He was born in a world without widespread cars, without radio and without electricity in the homes of many.

He left when millions of people had already started using the Internet.

In one life he crossed almost all the history of the modern world.

And maybe that's his most extraordinary record.

Small Stories