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Carl Berner
Carl Berner
Birth: 27 January 1902
Stuttgart, Germany
Death: 7 January 2013
New York City, USA
Age: 110 years, 346 days
Country: GermanyGERUnited StatesUSA
Validated

Carl James Berner (27 January 1902 – 7 January 2013)[1] was a German-born American supercentenarian, civic activist, and former toymaker.[2]

Biography[]

Carl Berner was born in Stuttgart, Germany on 27 January 1902. In 1929, at the age of 27, he emigrated to New York, where he would live for the next eight decades of his life. After marrying his wife, Margaret, the couple moved to Middle Village in Queens, New York. After the completion of the 77-story Art Deco Building, Berner was hired as its night manager. As it was the largest building in the world at the time, he was responsible for a large team of employees, which included 75 cleaning workers and 20 porters. Despite the tremendous difficulty of his job, he remained dedicated, working 10 hours a day, six days a week, in order to keep the massive building operating. After a few years of this work, he left the job in 1935 to pursue a career as a toy maker, a trade which he had learned back in Germany. In addition to his skills as a builder of toys, Berner worked as an entrepreneur to sell his work, opening a toy manufacturing business from within his home.

During his retirement, he became somewhat of a local celebrity around the Queens area for volunteer work, which included removing weeds and picking up litter. By the age of 102, he still maintained an active lifestyle, helping other elderly residents with chores around their homes. As a centenarian, he was reportedly still walking an average of five miles per day. In his later years, Berner lived with his daughter, Emily, in his Middle Village home.

Carl Berner died in New York City on 7 January 2013, a few weeks before his 111th birthday. Before his death he was the second-oldest living American man whose age had been validated, behind James McCoubrey. He had also been the oldest living man in New York City for at least the last two years of his life.[3] At the time of his death he was the second-oldest validated German-born man ever, behind Hermann Doernemann, who lived for 111 years, 279 days.

Carl Berner's age was verified by GRG-Germany Correspondent Stefan Jamin and GRG-USA Correspondent Mark Muir, and validated by the GRG on Sept. 3, 2012.

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