Ethel Caterham, a resident of Britain, has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world. At the age of 115 years and 252 days at the time of recognition, Caterham succeeds Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun who passed away at 116.
Born on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Caterham is the youngest individual in 12 years to hold this distinction. She is also the last known British person to have lived during the reign of King Edward VII and the only living Briton born before 1913.
Caterham's life spans significant historical events, including being born shortly after the U.S. Army acquired the world's first military airplane and months after the commencement of construction on the RMS Titanic. She worked as a nanny and later married British Army Maj. Norman Caterham in 1933. While she outlived both of her daughters, Caterham has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren.