| Eliza Underwood | |
 | |
| Birth: | 15 March 1867 Clinton, North Carolina, USA |
| Death: | 27 January 1981 Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
| Age: | 113 years, 318 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Eliza Underwood (née Brown; 15 March 1867 – 27 January 1981) was an American supercentenarian who, at the time of her death, was the oldest person ever.
Biography
Eliza Jane Brown was born as the daughter of former slaves Charlie and Violet (née Butler) Brown, in Clinton, North Carolina on 15 March 1867. She grew up in Clinton and was reared by a family of white neighbors. She married her husband Isham Underwood in 1890 and shortly thereafter moved to Georgia. Her only daughter, Lenorah, was born in 1891.
The family also adopted another daughter, Minnie, born in 1912. The family later moved to Columbia, Mississippi and stayed there for the next several decades. Eliza was widowed in 1953 and in 1973 she came to San Antonio, Texas to live with her daughter Lenorah. Lenorah died in 1979, after which Eliza moved in with her adopted daughter Minnie in Washington, District of Columbia.
Eliza Underwood died on 27 January 1981, aged 113 years, 318 days. At the time of her death she was the world's oldest living person, the oldest American ever as well as the oldest person to have ever lived. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).
References
- The San Antonio Light, March 14, 1973
- The San Antonio Light, March 16, 1974
- The San Antonio Express, March 16, 1975
- The San Antonio Express, February 13, 1976
- The San Antonio Light, February 13, 1976
- The San Antonio Express, March 11, 1976
- The San Antonio Express, February 3, 1977
- The San Antonio Light, March 16, 1977
- The Odessa American, June 4, 1978
- The Washington Evening Star, January 30, 1981
- 1870 US Census (Eliza Butler, 4)
- 1880 US Census (Eliza Jane Butler, 14)