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People Who Lived a Very Long Time

Can you name these people, past and present, who lived to at least 90 years old?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 21, 2024
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First submittedDecember 11, 2020
Times taken14,276
Average score55.0%
Rating4.29
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Hint
Age
Died
Answer
The oldest person in the Bible
969
?
Methuselah
Children's author who wrote "Ramona the Pest"
104
2021
Beverly Cleary
Star of "Spartacus" whose son Michael is quite old himself
103
2020
Kirk Douglas
The last Pinta Island tortoise in existence
102
2012
Lonesome George
Songwriter who wrote "White Christmas" and "Cheek to Cheek"
101
1989
Irving Berlin
He hosted the Oscars a record 19 times
100
2003
Bob Hope
This cigar-smoking comedian, husband of Gracie Allen,
was famous for being old
100
1996
George Burns
His official title was Duke of Edinburgh
99
2021
Prince Philip
She was already considered old in 1985 as one of "The Golden Girls"
99
2021
Betty White
Credited as the oldest person in history, some people (including me)
believe that she stole her mother's identity
122 / 99
1997
Jeanne Calment
Technically speaking, she ruled 16 countries in the British Commonwealth
96
2022
Queen Elizabeth II
In 1962, this crooner left his heart in San Francisco. In 2014, he danced
cheek to cheek with Lady Gaga.
96
2023
Tony Bennett
Zimbabwean dictator who proved the adage "the good die young"
95
2019
Robert Mugabe
First black leader of South Africa
95
2013
Nelson Mandela
History's pre-eminent Cubist painter
91
1973
Pablo Picasso
Great Egyptian pharaoh also known as "Ozymandias"
90
1213 B.C.
Ramses II
He's been ex-President since 1980, longer than any person in history
b. 1924
alive
Jimmy Carter
Narrator of "Planet Earth", younger brother of director Richard
b. 1926
alive
David Attenborough
Director of "The Producers", "Blazing Saddles", and "Spaceballs"
b. 1926
alive
Mel Brooks
With roles in "Gran Torino", "In the Line of Fire", and "The Mule",
he's starred as the old guy for quite some time
b. 1930
alive
Clint Eastwood
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94 Comments
Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2020
The "Mandela Effect", refers to an event which didn't happen, but which a large number of people claim to remember. It was so-named because many people "remembered" the death of Nelson Mandela long before he died.
pjcarpen
+2
Level 97
Dec 11, 2020
Please accept conventional spelling of Methuselah
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2020
Fixed, sorry about that!
mikeb
+4
Level 65
Jan 27, 2021
Not as generous as usual on spelling. Would not take "methusela" (i.e. no "h"). Funny since "Pittsburg" has been accepted on quizzes.
strangelybrown
+3
Level 89
Dec 11, 2020
The Bible fella is spelt Methuselah i believe, and i think you need alternative spellings to be allowed on the Pharaoh such as Rameses and Ramesses. Fine quiz though...
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2020
Added some more accepted spellings of Ramses.
Walacama
+8
Level 82
Jan 27, 2021
How about Ramesses.
Gumbledalf
+3
Level 74
Sep 29, 2024
Ramesses still doesn't work
MrLull
+1
Level 55
Oct 13, 2024
Is it possible to add Ramesses as spelling?
NV1
+5
Level 53
Dec 11, 2020
Jeanne Calment is the least guessed answer?
vermiciousknid
+6
Level 90
Dec 11, 2020
I knew who she was but I couldn't remember her last name, other than that it started with C...
GreenFriday
+4
Level 85
Dec 14, 2020
I kept trying "Clement"
martay
+6
Level 70
Dec 17, 2020
Yeah. Everybody else on this list - with maybe the exception of Methuselah who has that whole being in the Bible thing to his credit - is well known for something other than just being really, really old.
NV1
+1
Level 53
Dec 11, 2020
40 takes... lol
camus
+15
Level 79
Dec 11, 2020
I got this with Interesting Fact #164: The American politician John McCain was outlived by his mother. She was 106 years old at the time of his death in 2018.
Quizmaster
+7
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2020
That would have been a good one to add. Roberta McCain died this year at the age of 108.
stevediverse
+14
Level 88
Dec 11, 2020
Because many calendars before the Julian calendar were based on lunar months as opposed to solar years, there are those who believe that the ages of characters in The Bible were misinterpreted in translation and that Methuselah lived not for 969 solar years but for 969 lunar months (which is 78 1/2 solar years).
1ProximaCentauri
+2
Level 54
Dec 11, 2020
Maybe add Walter Mondale as he is 92 currently.
camus
+5
Level 79
Dec 12, 2020
Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970. Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1917-2016. Helmut Schmidt, 1918-2015. Giulio Andreotti, 1919-2013. Doris Day, 1922-2019. Christopher Lee, 1922-2015. Stan Lee, 1922-2018. Shimon Peres, 1923-2016. George H.W. Bush, 1924-2018. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 1926-2020. Henry Kissinger, 97. Eva Marie Saint, 96. Angela Lansbury, 95.
mikeb
+5
Level 65
Jan 27, 2021
Elvis will qualify in a few years.
RobNobody
+2
Level 79
Oct 13, 2024
Eva Marie Saint is still going at age 100, but RIP Angela Lansbury (96) and BIH Henry Kissinger (100).
mf3
+3
Level 89
Dec 12, 2020
Yeah, I am especially amazed that Kissinger isn't on there.
JackintheBox
+6
Level 80
Jan 27, 2021
This quiz certainly isn't exhaustive 😁
Ponderosa
+9
Level 88
Dec 11, 2020
I'm interested as to why you think Jeanne Calment stole her mother's identity, Quizmaster. I've looked at the evidence and it isn't very compelling to me.
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Dec 12, 2020
It's extremely compelling due to Bayesian inference.

Let's do a thought experiment. I say "think of a number between 1 and a billion". You say 376,452,125. And I say "wow, that's exactly the number I was thinking of". Which of these two scenarios is more likely?

a) We thought of the exact same number

b) The quizmaster is lying

Now realize how incredibly unlikely it is for one person to live so much longer than anyone else. The burden of proof is not on the people who point out the many flaws in Ms. Calment's story, it is on the people who claim that she lived to such an old age.

1ProximaCentauri
+3
Level 54
Jan 12, 2021
I have to agree with the Quizmaster. If we look at a list of longest-lived people, we see than Calment lived 3 years longer than 2nd place. The next biggest differenvce in consequent places is 1 year.
Dimby
+26
Level 80
Jan 27, 2021
To which flaws are you referring, Master Quizmaster? Scientists who confirmed her age said she could remember her teachers and other small facts from her life that her daughter likely wouldn't remember. Also, the main proponent of this theory and the use of Bayesian inference is Nikolay Zak, whose findings were originally dismissed as informal. I have to think that Zak's arbitrary guess at the probability that a signature is a forgery is weak. The mathematical theory seems interesting but I think Zak's use of it looks junky and arbitrary. Some of Zak's argument is based on her having too young of muscle definition and cognition. But... maybe that's why she lived so long? The randomly guessing a number up to a billion is a bit of false equivalency, isn't it? We can't put a real statistical likelihood that she had some sort of unique telomere condition, can we? Unless we take shots in the dark at subjective probabilities. Long story short, I distrust Zak more than her!
TWM03
+8
Level 72
Jan 27, 2021
Why is it unlikely for one person to live so much longer than everyone else? I have read that once you get past a certain age your probability of dying in any given year is about 1/2 (and it stops increasing). Not unreasonable for #1 to be about 3 years older than #2 if this is the case.
TWM03
+1
Level 72
Jan 27, 2021
How unlikely do you actually think it is that one person could have lived that much longer than everyone else? I would estimate the probability to be around 1 in 10 (very roughly but certainly to within an order of magnitude).
CountriesExport
+2
Level 25
Apr 22, 2021
Uhhhhhh prince Phillip Died so can you change that?
dimeon
+7
Level 92
Feb 16, 2023
I feel that this argument misrepresents both Bayesian inference and the burden of proof.

Gerontologists agree that the odds of supercentenarians making it to their next birthday drops to 1 in 2 (https://news.berkeley.edu/2018/06/28/supercentenarians/). I.e. One in two will make it to 111, 1/4 will make it to 112, 1/8 to 113, and so on. Extrapolating from this, once Calment made it to 110, her odds of making it to 122 was 1/4096. Therefore, if we’ve had 4096 supercentenarians, the odds of one of them getting to 122 become really good. The Gerontology Research Group has been able to accurately verify 1739 the existence supercentenarians (https://grg.org/Adams/A.HTM), although there would be more, since the list was last updated in 2015. Using the above information, the odds of at least one of the people on the list making it to 122 is 1739/4096, or 42.5%, a far cry from one in a billion.

dimeon
+6
Level 92
Feb 16, 2023
In terms of the burden of proof, extensive evidence about Calment’s claims was collected during her life and thereafter, including from people who were alive to know both her and her mother. The most rigorous scientific approach was followed. Apparently, she wasn’t even very well liked, so there would have been incentive to “out” her. You also have to consider the probability of someone telling an entire village that she is now her mother, and everyone just deciding to go along with it. Given the mountains of evidence, the burden of proof now rests squarely with those who dispute her age.

Those interested in a deep dive can use this article to make up their minds: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/02/17/was-jeanne-calment-the-oldest-person-who-ever-lived-or-a-fraud

Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Feb 16, 2023
@dimeon

Beyond childhood, the odds of surviving the next year decrease each year.

For example, the odds I survive the next year are well over 99%. But the odds of a 100 year old surviving the next year fall a lot.

Why would this process suddenly stop at age 110? Surely if the odds of a 110 year old surviving the next year are 50%, then the odds of a 115 year old surviving are much lower.

dunkinggandalf2
+7
Level 71
Jan 27, 2021
Come ooon! Dress it up in whatever theory you want, that's just crackpot lunacy. There is no actual reason to disbelieve her story.
OfficerDibble
+2
Level 84
Dec 12, 2020
"Technically speaking, she rules the British Commonwealth." The answer is obvious enough, but this is incorrect.

Technically speaking, she absolutely doesn't "rule" the Commonwealth. She is the figurehead (or "Head") of the Commonwealth, a purely symbolic role that has no element of "ruling". She also serves as constitutional monarch, i.e. head of state with no executive power (and not head of government), of 16 Commonwealth Realms, but not of the the other 38 Commonwealth countries.

Also technically speaking, the Commonwealth has not been described as British since the 1940s. It is more than 98% non-British, in fact, and its full name is the Commonwealth of Nations. I don't know why JetPunk insists on getting this wrong in several quizzes, when normally it makes a virtue (a fetish, some might say) of technical accuracy.

Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Dec 12, 2020
We use the vernacular because commonwealth is a generic term, and there are many different commonwealths including the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Your point is taken that Elizabeth is not head of state of all commonwealth countries. The quiz has been amended.

And while she is "merely" a ceremonial leader you should know that her legal powers are far from ceremonial, although what exactly would happen if she exercised them is an open question.

grantdon
+2
Level 74
Oct 14, 2024
Elizabeth famously exercised her powers in Australia in 1975. The Whitlam government was dismissed on the Governor General's advice due to them being denied supply (finance) by the Opposition
Dimby
+1
Level 80
Oct 13, 2024
My favourite part of the United Kingdom is the nation of Britain.
QRU
+6
Level 74
Dec 13, 2020
No love for the Methusalem/Metusalem spelling?
JackintheBox
+1
Level 80
Jan 28, 2021
I don't know about English, but that's how it's spelt in German
vitriden
+2
Level 83
Dec 13, 2020
It's Beverly Cleary, not Beverley.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Dec 13, 2020
Fixed
Qikiq
+3
Level 88
Dec 15, 2020
Sitting here in shock that Clint Eastwood is 90.
Jato
+2
Level 71
Jun 20, 2024
94 now!
PrettyTiedUp
+4
Level 70
Dec 15, 2020
You could also have had the Queen Mother who died at the ripe old age of 101. If her daughter also has the long life gene, poor Charles might not live to be king at all.
camus
+4
Level 79
Jan 4, 2021
Unless Charles got that gene, too.
brandybuck96
+2
Level 83
Sep 12, 2022
that comment didn't age terribly well
RobNobody
+3
Level 79
Oct 13, 2024
Much like Charles.
gustavo11
+5
Level 72
Dec 15, 2020
i missed Picasso cuz swear i read CUBAN PAINTER instead of cubist painter
Sifhraven
+1
Level 73
Jun 17, 2024
Same, even when I realised it said cubist.. I answered [icasso and thought huh, is picasso from Cuba??
JackintheBox
+5
Level 80
Jan 27, 2021
Why is Lonesome George on this quiz? 😁
JackintheBox
+4
Level 80
Jan 27, 2021
Could you accept 'Ramesses' for Ramses?
JackintheBox
+5
Level 80
Jan 27, 2021
Jimmy Carter has been ex-President since 1981, not 1980.
tylerdavid
+4
Level 75
Jan 27, 2021
I noticed that, too. 1/20/81 to be exact.
Froststar101
+3
Level 73
Jan 27, 2021
Yup
JamesVI
+12
Level 65
Jan 27, 2021
"Statistically improbable is not the same thing as statistically impossible" - There is no evidence that Jeanne Calment's daughter assumed her identity. None whatsoever. It's a fun, yet ridiculous conspiracy theory on the same level as the Moon being made of Cheese.

Also add Vera Lynn to the Quiz!

JackintheBox
+2
Level 80
Jan 28, 2021
Vera Lynn is in fact one of my favourite singers!
RuthlessCosmo
+1
Level 75
Oct 13, 2024
Who many of us heard for the first time at the conclusion of "Dr. Strangelove."
stylus
+3
Level 78
Jan 27, 2021
accept Ramesses? also a fun fact about Attenborough for anyone who’s interested: when he goes to the BBC to record voiceovers, he does them in 6-7 hour sittings with no breaks
Nathaniel
+6
Level 75
Jan 27, 2021
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2Queen Elizabeth patted him on the back and said "Well done, wee newcomer!"
JohnnyYeet
+2
Level 61
Jan 27, 2021
Stan Lee?
loganite
+9
Level 91
Jan 27, 2021
The quiz is titled "People Who Lived A Very Long Time," and the prompt asks, "Can you name these people, past and present..." Why is a tortoise on this quiz?
MG17
+5
Level 43
Jan 27, 2021
Why the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer isn’t here!? He lived 104 years old, and has many incredible projects in Brazil, and around the world. He projected Brasilia (with help of Lúcio Costa), the Contemporaneous Art Museum in Niterói, the Pampulha Architectural Ensemble, in Belo Horizonte, and he projected the headquarters of the UNO in NYC!

I’m surprised that Niemeyer isn’t here... really.

camus
+1
Level 79
Jan 27, 2021
I didn't know he got that old. Maybe if there is a part 2.
camus
+1
Level 79
Jan 27, 2021
Whatever, I just created part 2.
MG17
+1
Level 43
Jan 27, 2021
Good job! I really liked!
BObPolly
+4
Level 47
Jan 27, 2021
Please accept Ramesses II
TrivialDon
+2
Level 65
Jan 27, 2021
Some others who might also be added:

Lillian Gish (silent film actress) 1893-1993 - aged 99

Renee Simonot (actress and mother of Catherine Deneuve) b. 1911 and still living

Angela Landsbury (actress) b. 1925 and still living

George Schultz (Secretary of State under Reagan) b. 1920 and still living

Norman Lear (TV producer) b.1922 and still living

Kane Tanaka (world's oldest verified living person) b. 1903 and still living

Bob Barker (Price is Right) b. 1923 and still living

JohnnyYeet
+1
Level 61
Jan 27, 2021
Don't forget Ronald Reagan, Stan Lee
HyddenRizz
+1
Level 67
Oct 14, 2024
In case anyone else was curious - all of these people have since died; Norman Lear most recently.
kcirceo
+1
Level 66
Oct 14, 2024
Clint would like a word
Wiremu
+1
Level 58
Jan 28, 2021
For Clint Eastwood, I was thinking about Gran Torino from MHA :P
Politte
+3
Level 55
Jan 28, 2021
The instructions for this quiz were: "Can you name these people, past and present, who lived to at least 90 years old?"

But one of the hints was related with a tortoise. I think that this is a mistake.

fromTtoC
+3
Level 58
Apr 9, 2021
Rest in Peace Prince Philip
TheodoreE45
+4
Level 93
Apr 23, 2021
Both Beverly Cleary and Prince Philip died a within the past two months!
Fergy586
+1
Level 78
Jul 10, 2021
I remember reading her books as a little kid. Wouldn't have guessed she was still alive earlier this year.
christohwig
+1
Level 44
Aug 16, 2021
Why does it say Prince Philip is still alive
AllenY
+1
Level 68
Dec 26, 2021
Please accept "Ramesses", this is far and away the most conventional spelling, it's a little absurd not to
jkabq
+1
Level 65
Oct 13, 2024
on mars?
fromTtoC
+2
Level 58
Jan 6, 2022
RIP Beverly Cleary

RIP Prince Philip

RIP Betty White

ItzIngenious
+3
Level 66
Feb 18, 2022
Some of them are dead
Froststar101
+3
Level 73
Mar 17, 2022
Some "alive" people are now deceased.
TheMightyQ
+2
Level 84
Jul 21, 2023
RIP Tony Bennett
FNWY4life
+1
Level 71
Dec 3, 2023
Time to remove Bennett :(
leontodon
+2
Level 71
Oct 13, 2024
If "the good die young" is proven, does that imply everyone on this list is evil? A bold stand indeed.
DarthKnight
+1
Level 90
Oct 13, 2024
I was hoping that Stan Lee would be included in this quiz.
Zyper
+1
Level 59
Oct 13, 2024
Where's Juan Ponce Enrile?

He has been alive since the stone age? He's currently the Presidential Counsel for President Marcos

joedimaggio
+5
Level 73
Oct 14, 2024
I can understand people doubting the age Jeanne Calment, and I think that the fact that she may or may not have stolen her mother's identity is 100% valid as a hint. But the "including me" is a little odd. It is a little presumptuous from the Quizmaster to think that his opinion has the legitimity to be added in a hint, isn't it?
Lambdaspicot
+2
Level 54
Oct 14, 2024
this ^
BBryant
+2
Level 70
Oct 14, 2024
(including me) bro what stakes do you have in that aha
Krautfrog
+3
Level 58
Oct 14, 2024
Proof of the age reached by Jeanne Calment is numerous and more solid than for the vast majority of the supercentanarians we know of (cf. documents of the Gerontology Research Group GRG). Her age is scientifically documented beyond any reasonable doubt, even more so after she was accused to have usurped her mother's identity.

Nonetheless the hoax of her "stolen" age continues to live on and the fact that she indeed lived up to 122 years won't be accepted by people who only want to believe in what they call "their truth".

SpartanLlama
+1
Level 74
Oct 14, 2024
Could add Chomsky
kcirceo
+1
Level 66
Oct 14, 2024
America's favorite anarchist
JamesTKirk
+2
Level 72
Mar 8, 2025
Jimmy Carter's dead now :(
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