| Ruth Newman | |
 | |
| Birth: | 23 September 1901 California, USA |
| Death: | 29 July 2015 Pebble Beach, California, USA |
| Age: | 113 years, 309 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Validated | |
Margaret Ruth Newman (née Barnard; 23 September 1901 – 29 July 2015) was a validated American supercentenarian who was, along with William Del Monte and Katherine Gomery, one of the last three survivors of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, and aside from that, one of the 10 oldest validated living people in the world and was, at the time of her passing, believed to be the second-oldest living American-born person (behind Susannah Mushatt Jones).
Biography
Margaret Ruth Newman grew up on a ranch in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California, the second child born to Benjamin and Margaret (née Snider) Barnard. She had four siblings, three sisters and one brother. She was 4 years old when the quake struck, shaking the family home in the early morning of 18 April 1906.
Newman and her late husband met at a dance and after marrying they continued to go out dancing, even joining a dancing club in Sacramento, where they raised two children.
She lived in Pebble Beach and attributed her long life to hard work she learned on her father's ranch, to keeping active (she played golf until she was 92) and to a glass of Scotch whisky she had every evening until she was 103. Two of Newman's siblings were also centenarians.
Newman died on 29 July 2015 at the age of 113 years, 309 days. She was the oldest person ever to be born in California until Maria Branyas Morera surpassed her age on 8 January 2021.
References
- Gerontology Research Group
- Remembering Ruth Newman: Oldest survivor of 1906 SF quake dies Kron 4, 2 September 2015