| Chan Tai | |
| Birth: | 1861/1862 Qing dynasty (China) |
| Death: | 16 June 1966 Chansville Bungalow, Mountbatten Road, Katong, East Region, Singapore |
| Age: | 104 years, 0+ days |
| Country: |  CHN SGP
|
| Centenarian | |
Chan Tai (1861/1862 – 16 June 1966) was the centenarian progenitor of the Chan swimming family in Singapore.
Biography[]
Like most immigrants from China, Chan started from scratch and eventually built up a small fortune by starting an iron foundry in Taiping.
He moved to British Singapore in 1881.
In the 1940s, Chan and his family moved into a two-storey bungalow dubbed Chansville which was situated on 55,000 square feet of land at 745 Mountbatten Road. The family sold the home to a property developer in 2004 for S$11,000,000. The original building, conserved by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 1993, now sits on approximately 23,000 square feet of land. The remaining space has been subdivided into four plots ranging from 5,574 to 10,168 square feet.
Chan's wife passed away in 1957. They had at least two children, a daughter, and son, swimming coach Chan Ah Kow, by whom he was grandfather to "Golden Girl" Patricia Chan who earned numerous gold medals for Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games. Other notable descendants by his son include grandsons Roy Chan Kum Wah, Alex Chan Meng Wah and Bernard Chan Cheng Wah, who were national swimmers. Another grandson, Mark Chan, a composer. Granddaughter Victoria Lye-Hua Chan-Palay, a prominent neuroscientist with an expertise in Alzheimer's in the United States and Switzerland, was the first woman to graduate summa cum laude from Harvard Medical School. And great-granddaughter Marina Chan, also a national swimmer.
Chan often attributed his longevity to a disciplined life - a proper diet, exercise, good sleep and abstinence from liquor and cigarettes.
He had a habit of taking "40 winks" after each meal.
He passed away on 16 June 1966 at his bungalow, aged 104. Amongst his survivors were 12 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
References[]
- KATONG'S GRAND OLD MAN DIES AT 104 The Straits Times, 17 June 1966, Page 6
- DR CHAN AH KOW Sports Museum of Singapore
- Patricia Chan Li-Yin National Library Board
- Ex-swim star gets rare varsity honour The Straits Times, 15 June 1975, Page 1
- SWIMMER ROY SHINES ALSO IN STUDIES The Straits Times, 13 March 1972, Page 6
- Swim star weds The Straits Times, 4 August 1978, Page 29
- Host Nations and Representatives for the Asian Games Sports Museum of Singapore
- little night music with pat chan Fridae, 22 March 2004
- 陈国华-Mark Chan China Central Television, 5 September 2007
- Marina keeps Chan name flying AsiaOne, 11 June 2014
- Mountbatten Road Urban Redevelopment Authority