Charlie Nelson

Charlie Nelson
Charlie Nelson on his 99th birthday.
Birth:	21 September 1867 Canton, Ohio, USA
Death:	20 August 1978 Guthrie Center, Iowa, USA
Age:	110 years, 333 days
Country:	USA
Validated

Charles Herbert "Charlie" Nelson (21 September 1867 – 20 August 1978) was a validated American supercentenarian who was the world's oldest known living man at the time of his death. He is the oldest man ever from Iowa

Biography

Charlie Nelson was born in Canton, Ohio on 21 September 1867. As a young child, his family moved to a small town in Iowa called Guthrie Center in 1872. Nelson had various jobs, such as being a teacher at local county schools, owning a drug store (after taking a pharmacy course at Northwestern University) and repairing watches. He was also in the real estate business, selling insurances.

When he was in his 80's, he was elected as the mayor of Guthrie Center. He held this position for eight years. He attributed his longevity "to his love of people, for life, and keeping interested in world activities, as well as continuing to work."

He maintained his independence well into his senior years, driving a car until he was aged 99, and continued to live on his own until he was 108, by which point he moved into a retirement home, but still maintained good health, walking with the aid of a cane even as a supercentenarian. He would spend much of his time playing checkers with other residents, and liked walking around the care facility, sometimes visiting the room of his younger sister, who was also a resident; she was aged 100 at the time of Nelson's 110th birthday. She would die just a few weeks after her brother, 14 days shy of her 101st birthday. In addition to his sister, longevity was prevalent in his family, with his father, George Benton Nelson (1843–1935), living to be 92 years and his mother, Margaret Kryder (1842–1934), to 91 years.

Nelson died in Guthrie Center, Iowa, USA on 20 August 1978 at the final age of 110 years, 333 days. He was the 3rd oldest living person in the world at the time of his death, behind Fannie Thomas and Anna Murphy. He was, however, the world's oldest living man and the last verified surviving man born in the 1860's.

Gallery

Charlie Nelson cleaning a plugged drain at the age of 107.

Charlie Nelson at age 110.

References

• The Guthrian, September 19, 1966
• The Miami News, August 21, 1978
• Iowa Digital Library, April 1, 1998
• Charles Herbert “Charlie” Nelson Find A Grave
• Charles Herbert "Charlie" Nelson (1867 - 1978) FamilySearch

World's Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • T • E)

Sylvester Melvin • Joseph Saint-Amour • William Fullingim • John Mosley Turner • Friedrich Wedeking • Frederick Butterfield • Jean Teillet • Charlie Nelson • Charlie Phillips • Zachariah Blackistone • James Nash • Walter Wilcox • Gregory Pandazes • Joe Thomas • Herman Smith-Johannsen • Alphaeus Philemon Cole • John Evans • Henri Perignon • James Wiggins • Frederick Frazier • Josep Armengol-Jover • Christian Mortensen • Walter Richardson • Denzo Ishizaki • Antonio Urrea-Hernandez • John Painter • Antonio Todde • Yukichi Chuganji • Joan Riudavets Moll • Fred Hale • Emiliano Mercado del Toro • Tomoji Tanabe • Henry Allingham • Walter Breuning • Horacio Celi Mendoza • Jiroemon Kimura • Salustiano Sanchez • Arturo Licata • Alexander Imich • Sakari Momoi • Yasutaro Koide • Israel Kristal • Francisco Nunez Olivera • Masazo Nonaka • Tomas Pinales Figuereo • Emilio Flores Marquez • Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia • Juan Vicente Perez Mora • Shi Ping • John Tinniswood

United States' Oldest Living Man Titleholders (V • E)

James Smith • James Hard • William Kiney • Wayland Newell • Daniel Cummings • Teofil Chudzinski • Robert Early • Sylvester Melvin • William Smith • James King • Ollie Stewart • John Chaney • William Lamb • Theophilus May • Orin Akers • Isaac Edwards • James Holt • Charlie Nelson • Charlie Phillips • Zachariah Blackistone • James Nash • Walter Wilcox • Gregory Pandazes • Benjamin Garner • Randolph Davis • Joe Thomas • Alphaeus Philemon Cole • Alton Gilbert • Oscar Dubois • James Wiggins • Frederick Frazier • Christian Mortensen • Walter Richardson • Edward Graves • John Painter • John McMorran • Fred Hale • Earl Brush • Moses Hardy • Thomas Nelson • Antonio Pierro • George Francis • Walter Breuning • Shelby Harris • Salustiano Sanchez • Ernest Peronneau • Alexander Imich • Conrad Johnson • James Richardson • Wash Wesley • Felix Simoneaux • Frank Levingston • Clarence Matthews • Richard Overton • Henry Tseng • CP Crawford • Irving Piken • Lawrence Brooks • Ezra Hill • Francis Zouein • Morrie Markoff • Vincent Dransfield • Eugene Baltes