London — John Alfred Tinniswood held the title of world’s oldest man for almost nine months and celebrated his 112th birthday during his reign.
The family said in a statement that Mr Tinniswood’s record-keeping status ended on Monday after he died in a care home in northwest England, near Liverpool, where he was born on August 26, 1912.
Tiniswood attributed his longevity to “pure luck.”
“You either live long or you live short. There’s nothing you can do about it,” the former accountant and great-grandfather told Guinness World Records when he won the Guinness World Records title in April.
But if there’s a secret to it, he said, moderation is the key to healthy living. He didn’t smoke, drank very little alcohol, and didn’t eat any special diet except for fish and chips every Friday.
“If you drink too much, eat too much, walk too much, do too much, you’ll end up suffering,” Tiniswood says.
Tinnis Wood was born a few months after the Titanic sank. He served in two World Wars and served in the British Army Pay Corps during World War II.
Tiniswood broke the record this spring at age 111, following the death of Venezuela’s Juan Vicente Perez at age 114.
Guinness World Records has not announced who will replace Tinnis Wood as the new record holder.
He is survived by his daughter Susan, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Broduen, his wife of 44 years, died in 1986.
When Tiniswood celebrated her 112th birthday in August, she said she was taking the year with aplomb, just like everything else.
“I don’t feel that age and I don’t get excited about it. That’s probably why I got to that age,” he said.
The world’s oldest woman and oldest living person is 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka from Japan.
