The ‘world’s oldest man’, who liked to imbibe a little alcohol, has died in Brazil aged 127, it has been reported.
Jose Paulino Gomes was born prior to the inaugural Proms, the first rugby league football match, and the discovery of X-rays, according to records.
He passed away at his home in the rural Corrego do Cafe in the west of the country on Friday – just days before his 128th birthday.
Jose was born on August 4th, 1895, according to his 1917 marriage certificate, local reports stated.
Willyan Jose Rodrigues de Souza, who is a legal adviser to a registry office in nearby Pedra Bonita, said, “’According to the record, he married at 22 years old. It is presumed that he was indeed born before 1900. Men seldom married at 17.”
If accurate, Jose would have been the oldest known person in the world.
The current record holder, according to the Guinness World Records, is Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, who is 115.
Jose’s granddaughter Eliane Ferreira told local media, “Here in the countryside, people are usually registered when they are older.”
“There are several cases with incorrect documentation. But his documentation showed he was younger than he actually was. There is a lady nearby who is 98 years old. She says she knew him when he was just a boy.”
Jose, who worked as an animal tamer, was widowed. He leaves behind seven children, 25 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
Eliane said, “He was very simple, very humble. His uniqueness was that he didn’t like anything industrialised, only things from the countryside, natural.”
According to his family, Jose’s cause of death was multiple organ failure, likely due to his advanced age.
He was laid to rest at the Corrego dos Fialhos Cemetery in Pedra Bonita on Saturday. It is not clear if Guinness World Records are investigating the claims.
