In the UK in 1912, the Suffragettes were vandalizing post boxes to win women the right to vote and the Titanic was registered in the port city of Liverpool before its maiden, and only, voyage. Also registered in Liverpool that year was the birth of John Tinniswood.
Tinniswood, who was born on August 26, 1912, died on Monday at the age of 112, at his care home in Southport, UK.
Guinness World Records declared him the world’s oldest man earlier this year, after the previous titleholder, Juan Vicente Pérez, from Venezuela, died at the age of 114 and 311 days.
The title could now fall to João Marinho Neto, a 112-year-old Brazilian, but his age hasn’t yet been validated by Guinness World Records.
Tinniswood was also the world’s oldest surviving male World War II veteran. He served in an admin role for the British Army Pay Corps, which involved logistical work including organizing food supplies and locating stranded soldiers. He then worked in admin and accountancy for the Royal Mail, the UK’s postal service, as well as Shell and BP before he retired in 1972.
Tinniswood was married to his wife, Blodwen Tinniswood, for 44 years before she died in 1986. The couple had one child, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
The staff at his residential home described Tinniswood as a “big chatterbox,” per Guinness World Records. At 111 years old, he was mobile and independent, managing his own finances and getting out of bed unassisted.
When he earned the title of oldest living man, Tinniswood was unphazed, telling Guinness World Records it “doesn’t make any difference to me at all. I accept it for what it is.”
Tinniswood had 3 pieces of life advice for younger people
Tinniswood’s biggest piece of advice for people wanting to live as long as him was to do everything in moderation.
“If you drink too much, or you eat too much, or you walk too much, if you do too much of anything, you’re going to suffer eventually,” he said. “Never over-tax your system” if you want a healthy life, he told BBC News.
He didn’t follow a specific diet, telling Guinness World Records, “I eat what they give me, and so does everybody else” — apart from fish and chips, a British classic, for dinner every Friday.
He didn’t smoke and rarely drank alcohol, two habits that are great for longevity.
In 2022, he told BBC News that it’s also important to “broaden your vision.”
“Don’t stay with one thing all the time or you’ll be on a narrow path,” he said.
But no matter what you’re doing, “always do the best you can, whether you’re learning something or whether you’re teaching someone,” he told Guinness World Records. “Give it all you’ve got. Otherwise, it’s not worth bothering with.”
This echoes research linking longevity to a positive mindset and a sense of purpose.
Ultimately, though, Tinniswood thought he mostly reached his old age out of “pure luck.”
“You either live long or you live short, and you can’t do much about it,” he said.
Business Insider previously reported on Naomi Whitehead — the oldest person in the US — and her longevity tips.
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