Eilif Philipsen (21 July 1682 – 20 June 1785) was a Norwegian farmer known for his

longevity Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...

: he was the first accurately documented

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

ever, and was accordingly the oldest verified living person from 1782 to 1785.

Biography

According to church records, Philipsen was born a

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

on 21 July 1682, in the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Kinsarvik Kinsarvik is a village in the municipality of Ullensvang in Vestland county, Norway. The village is located at the end of a small bay at the confluence of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord, where they join to form the main branch of the Hardang ...

, then a part of the Kingdom of Denmark–Norway. His twin sister went by the name of Ingeborg; they were both baptized the same day they were born. In 1701, when the first Norwegian census had been conducted, he was listed as being of 18 years of age, and living with his father and two brothers—10-year-old Jacob, along with 3-year-old Hans. In 1721, while nearing 40, he married a 22-year-old. Two years later, he was said to have been involved in a

court case Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' ...

. In 1727, he inherited a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

that would eventually be given to the husband of his

adopted Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

daughter in 1753. In April 1783, he was mentioned in a local

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

's letter to

Bolle Willum Luxdorph Bolle Willum Luxdorph (24 July 1716 – 13 August 1788) was a Danish government official, historian, writer and book collector. Early life and education Ludxdorph was born on 24 July 1817 in Copenhagen, the son of colonel Christian Luxdorph ( ...

. His death was recorded to have taken place in Kinsarvik, his hometown, on 20 June 1785—aged 102 years and 334 days.

Controversy

Although the general consensus appears to conclude that he was, in fact, the first documented centenarian, there are a few scholars in academia who beg to differ. For instance, according to the

demographer Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

James Vaupel James W. Vaupel (May 2, 1945 – March 27, 2022) was an American scientist in the fields of aging research, biodemography, and formal demography. He was instrumental in developing and advancing the idea of the plasticity of longevity, and pion ...

and the

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases. It is a cornerstone ...

Bernard Jeune Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern ...

, Philipsen had been confused with "another member of his family bearing the same name," stating that "we do not have enough knowledge about his relatives to rule this possibility out."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipsen, Eilif 1682 births 1785 deaths Norwegian men centenarians