According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest person in history was Jeanne Louise Calment, who passed away in 1997 at the astounding age of 122 years 164 days.
However, even that incredible achievement pales in comparison to the oldest land animal currently walking our planet: Jonathan the tortoise.
Yes, believed to have been hatched all the way back in 1832, Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise that has lived through some of humanity's greatest milestones.
That's right, Jonathan took his first steps when Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, and he was already six years old when the very first photograph was taken in 1838.
Jonathan has survived two world wars, and lived long enough to see the Wright Brothers take the first power-driven flight in 1903, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon in 1969, and see Richard Branson win the billionaire space race. Of course, being a tortoise, I doubt Jonathan took a real interest in any of that.
His official title from the Guinness World Records is "oldest chelonian" - a category that "encompasses all turtles, terrapins and tortoises", according to its official website.
Jonathan currently lives on the remote island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. According to the island's government, he is blind and has no sense of smell, and requires a hand-feeding once a week by his veterinary team.
His personal caretaker, Joe Hollins, provided an insight into the tortoise's days, saying: "[Jonathan] enjoys the sun but on very hot days takes to the shade. On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and transfer it to his core."
Jonathan's favorite foods are cabbage, cucumber, carrot, apple, and bananas - although, he apparently struggles to chew the bananas.
Joe also describes Jonathan as "a local icon, symbolic of persistence in the face of change."
Jonathan's age may be an estimate, but considering the fact he was fully mature when he first arrived in St Helena from the Seychelles in 1882, we can presume that he was at least 50 years old at the time. This means he could be even older than 190!
The tortoise has spent most of his life wandering the residence of the Governor of St Helena. The photograph below shows Jonathan enjoying the grass of the Plantation House garden, as was snapped between 1882 and 1886.
Since being gifted to Sir William Grey-Wilson over 100 years ago, Jonathon has lived to see 31 other governors come and go.
In fact, throughout his lifetime, Jonathan has lived through seven British monarchs and 39 American presidents!
Amazingly, despite being the oldest living land animal, Jonathan is not the oldest animal to have ever lived. That distinction goes to a quahog clam that was discovered in 2006. According to the Guinness World Records, the clam is believed to be 507 years old.
.jpg_HJK3mA?tr=h-184)
