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Jeanetta Thomas
Jeanetta Thomas
Birth: 2 December 1869
Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, UK
Death: 5 January 1982
Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, UK
Age: 112 years, 34 days
Country: United Kingdom UK
Validated

Jeanetta Jane Thomas (2 December 1869 – 5 January 1982), also spelled as Janetta Thomas, was a British supercentenarian who was the oldest known living person in Europe at the time of her death. She was also the last surviving person in Europe born in the 1860s whose age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group.

Biography

Thomas was born on 2 December 1869 in Llantrisant, Wales. She spent her youth in London working as a seamstress. At the age of around 40, she returned to Wales to open a drapery shop, which she ran until the age of 98. She died in Cowbridge, Wales, on 5 January 1982 at the age of 112 years, 34 days.

Longevity Records

Welsh Records

Thomas became the first Welsh person ever to attain supercentenarian status when she celebrated her 110th birthday on 2 December 1979. She remained the longest-lived person ever from Wales until her record was broken by Anna Eliza Williams on 7 July 1985. However, since Williams was born in England, Thomas remained the longest-lived person ever born in Wales until she was surpassed by John Evans on 23 September 1989.

She was the oldest known woman ever born in Wales until Lilian Priest surpassed her age on 12 December 2018.

UK Records

Thomas became the last surviving British person born in 1869 following the death of 110 year-old Constance Young on 27 July 1980. Thomas later became the oldest living person in the United Kingdom, as well as the last British person born in the 1860s, following the death of 111 year-old Florence Pannell on 20 October 1980. After Thomas's death, Alice Brewster became the UK's oldest living person.

Thomas was the second person from the UK to reach their 112th birthday, after Alice Stevenson in 1973. When she died on 5 January 1982, Thomas was just five days short of tying Stevenson's record of 112 years, 39 days.

International Records

Following the death of 112 year-old Augustine Tessier on 8 March 1981, Thomas became the oldest living person in Europe and the last surviving European born in the 1860s. After Thomas's death, fellow Brit Alice Brewster became Europe's oldest living person.

At the time of her death, Thomas was the second-oldest living person in the world, after Nellie Spencer.

References


United Kingdom's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Frederick Stabbins • Jane ListerMartha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Jane Raby • Frances Smith • William Walker • Ann Russell • Eliza Roff • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Rachel SwainMary Davey • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Elizabeth Sellwood • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Emma Rooke • Margaret Lunn • Sarah Humphrey • Caroline BealeFanny Hopkins • Elizabeth Etheridge • Sophia Wellstead • Rhoda Harris • Emma Weeks • Edith Grellier • Mary WorthingtonJane Stoneman • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Hannah SmithJohn Mosley TurnerAda Roe • Alice StevensonElizabeth WatkinsFrederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Agnes Helyar • James Harrow • Sarah Morgan • Lilias WilliamsFlorence PannellJeanetta ThomasAlice Brewster • Anna Eliza Williams • Kate Begbie • Charlotte Hughes • Daisy Adams • Rebecca Hewison • Annie Scott • Rachel Wieselberg • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Amy Hulmes • Nellie Bradley • Gladys Hawley • Lucy d'Abreu • Judy Ingamells • Emmeline BriceAnnie Knight • Ada Mason • Florrie Baldwin • Eunice BowmanAnnie Turnbull • Elsie SteeleMargaret Fish • Violet Wood • Grace A Jones • Ethel Lang • Gladys Hooper • Bessie CammOlive BoarGrace C JonesGwen PayneHilda ClulowBob WeightonJoan HocquardLilian PriestGertrude KingstonMollie WalkerEthel Caterham


Europe's Oldest Living Person Titleholders (VE)

Willem van Renterghem • Marie d'Evergroote • Lavina Hansdatter • Kirsti Skagen • Geert Adriaans Boomgaard • Margaret Ann Neve • Karen BrodbaekSophia Wijnberg • Agnete Olsdatter • Honor Coleman • Sophie Lacomte • Maria Vleminckx • Johanna Berns • Matthias Dodenhoff • Sarah Gardiner • Elisabeth Jensen • Britta Njeldsdatter • Frederick Stabbins • Jane Lister • Martha Truelove • Ann Sharp • Gertrud Kübbeler • Marie Delfairiere • Frances Smith • Katherine Plunket • Eliza Roff • Maria Montemurro • Ellen Palmer • Rachel MacArthur • Anne Marie SkauRachel Swain • Wilhelmine Olschewski • Mary Davey • Francesco Cubadda • Thomas Pope • John Francklow • Rebecca Lees • Sarah Fitt • Johanna Johansson • Elizabeth Sellwood • Petronella Braams • Matilda Coppins • Elizabeth Whitehead • Karl Glockner • Sarah Humphrey • Maria Johansson • Michelina Macchia • Caroline Beale • Josephine Marchal • Luise Rissmann • Christina Karnebeek-Backs • Marie Olsen • Willem Kostering • Ella Ille Rentel • Lovisa Svensson • Ellen Dart • Elizabeth Kensley • Auguste Pahl • Hannah Smith • Anna KrslencovaJohn Mosley Turner • Marie Bernatkova • Ada Roe • Josefa Salas Mateo • Alice Stevenson • Frederick Butterfield • Rose Heeley • Marie-Virginie Duhem • Josefa Llovet • Florence PannellAugustine Tessier • Jeanetta Thomas • Alice Brewster • Petronella Ribbens-Verstallen • Anna Eliza Williams • Jeanne Calment • Lucy Askew • Annie Jennings • Eva Morris • Marie Bremont • Amy Hulmes • Germaine Haye • Teresa Fumarola • Joan Riudavets-Moll • Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper • Virginia Dighero-Zolezzi • Camille Loiseau • Maria de Jesus • Manuela Fernandez-Fojaco • Lucia Lauria • Florrie Baldwin • Venere Pizzinato-Papo • Marcelle Narbonne • Marie-Therese Bardet • Maria Redaelli • Emma Morano • Ana Vela Rubio • Giuseppina Projetto • Maria Giuseppa Robucci • Lucile RandonMaria Branyas Morera

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