Who Is Emma Morano? World's Oldest Person Dies At 117

The woman believed to be the world’s oldest person died Saturday, April 15, in Italy at the age of 117. Emma Morano was also the last surviving person to be born in the 19th century, meaning she lived through three centuries.

Born on Nov. 29, 1899 in Italy’s Piedmont region, Morano reportedly credited her long life to great genes and an odd diet that included three eggs a day, of which two were eaten raw.

Silvia Marchionini, mayor of the town of Verbania where Morano lived, said: “She reached an incredible finish line.” The town reportedly has over 20 people who are above the age of 100.

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Morano’s long life was full of ups and downs. She outlived all her siblings, lost her only son, ended an abusive marriage, lived through both the world wars and saw over 90 Italian governments during her lifetime.

“My life wasn’t so nice,” she told Reuters last year. “I worked in a factory until I was 65, then that was that.”

After the man she loved died during the World War I, Morano was forced to marry another man but the marriage was not a happy one.

“‘Either you agree to marry me or I will kill you’,” Morano quoted her husband’s proposal during an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa. “I was 26. We got married.”

The marriage ended after her son died, just six months after his birth, and Morano decided to kick her husband out. She told the New York Times, “I didn’t want to be dominated by anyone.”

Morano’s doctor Carlo Bava elaborated on her unusual diet, which she picked up after being diagnosed with anemia soon after World War I.

“When I first knew her she used to eat three eggs a day. Two raw, and one fried. Today she has slowed down a bit, reducing the number to two some days because she says three can be too much,” Bava was reported saying by Reuters last year.

“She has never eaten much fruit or vegetables. Her characteristic is that she always eats the same thing, every day, every week, every month and every year.”

With Morano’s death, Violet Brown of Jamaica, born March 10, 1900, has become the oldest living person, according to data from Gerontology Research Group.