Sarah Knauss

Sarah Knauss
File:Sarah Knauss.jpg Sarah Knauss at age 119 in 1999
Born	Sarah DeRemer Clark (1880-09-24)September 24, 1880 Hollywood, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	December 30, 1999(1999-12-30) (aged ) Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Other names	Sadie
Height	4 ft 7 in (1.40 m)
Title	America's oldest person
Spouse(s)	Abraham Lincoln Knauss (1878–1965)
Children	1

Sarah DeRemer Knauss (née Clark; September 24, 1880 – December 30, 1999) was an American supercentenarian. Knauss is the oldest person ever from the United States, as well as the second-oldest fully documented person ever behind Jeanne Calment. She was considered the world's oldest living person by Guinness World Records from April 16, 1998, until her own death.

Biography

She was born Sarah DeRemer Clark on September 24, 1880 in Hollywood, Pennsylvania, a small coal mining village. She married Abraham Lincoln Strauss in 1901; he became a prominent Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Republican leader, and the recorder of deeds. She was a homemaker and manager for an insurance agency.

At age 116, she was recognized as being the new United States national longevity record holder, then thought to have been held by Carrie C. White (reportedly 1874–1991). In 1998, she is thought to have became the world's oldest person when 117 year old Marie-Louise Meilleur of Quebec died. When her family members told her of her new found fame, her response was a smile and "So what?"

Knauss lived through seven U.S. wars and the administrations of 23 U.S. Presidents. At her death, she was one of seven living generations of her family.

She died in Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 30, 1999 at the Phoebe-Devitt Homes Foundation nursing home, which was her residence for nine years. She came within 33 hours of having lived in three different centuries and two different millennia. She credited not letting things upset her as being the ‘secret’ to her longevity.

Of her death, state senator Charlie Dent, who had attended her 115th birthday in 1995, said "Mrs. Knauss was an extraordinary woman who pushed the outer limits of longevity. This is a sad occasion, but she certainly had an eventful life."

See also

• List of the verified oldest people
• Oldest people

External links

• Gerontology Research Group
• Oldest person alive
• Photo portrait — Sarah Knauss aged 117 in 1997 CBC Newspt:Anexo:Lista de supercentenários norte-americanos#Sarah Knauss

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