Fred Hale
Frederick "Fred" Harold Hale (December 1, 1890 – November 19, 2004[1]) was an American supercentenarian, beekeeper and railway post officer, and at the time of his death the oldest living man.[1]
Fred H. Hale, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Frederick "Fred" Harold Hale 1 December 1890 New Sharon, Maine, United States |
| Died | 19 November 2004 (aged 113 years, 354 days) Jamesville, New York, United States |
| Cause of death | Pneumonia |
| Title | The oldest person ever with a driving license |
Biography
Both of his parents lived to age 91 and his youngest son, Fred Hale Sr, to age 97. He married Flora Mooers, who died in 1979, in 1910, and had two daughters, Muriel (1910–1970) and Carrie (1913–1992) and three sons, Robert (1916–1918) who died in the Spanish flu, Norman (born 1920) and Fred (born 1921). At the time of his death, Hale also had nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and eleven great-great-grandchildren.
At age 95, Hale surfed for the first time in his life in Hawaii during a stop there on the journey back from Japan where he visited his grandson.
At age 100, he traveled to Europe along with his son Norman and his daughter-in-law, to visit Norman's location of military service during World War II.
At age 108, Hale was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest person ever with a driving license, and he believed "bee pollen and honey every day, along with the occasional nip of whiskey" as the secret to a long life.
He became the oldest living American man and the third oldest living man in the world (behind Japaneseman Yukichi Chuganji and Joan Riudavets) on February 24, 2003 when 113-year-old John McMorran died of heart failure and over a year later, on March 5, 2004, after 114-year-old Spaniard Joan Riudavets' death, also the oldest man in the world as well as the last living man born before the tenth and last decade of the 19th century (1891–1900).[1]
Hale died of pneumonia on November 19, 2004, just twelve days before his 114th birthday and before his son Norman (who died at age 84 on December 30, 2004).
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joan Riudavets |
World's oldest living man March 5, 2004 - November 19, 2004 |
Succeeded by Emiliano Mercado del Toro |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Table M - World's Oldest Men (WOM) Titleholders Since 1973". Revision #8. Gerontology Research Group. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2022.