Robert Meier (March 10, 1897 – January 29, 2007) was, aged 109,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

's oldest living man, a combat-wounded veteran of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and one of Germany's last surviving veterans of that war. Meier became Germany's oldest living man on March 2, 2005, when he was age 107, following the death of 111-year-old Hermann Dörnemann. Meier lived in

Witten Witten () is a city with almost 100,000 inhabitants in the Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. Geography Witten is situated in the Ruhr valley, in the southern Ruhr area. Bordering municipalities * Bochum ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. He was a rarity in being a survivor of the infantry, having seen combat in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on the western front. He was also a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran, spending some time as a prisoner of war in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. In October 2006, Robert Meier met then 110-year-old

Henry Allingham Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was an English supercentenarian. He is the longest-lived man ever recorded from the United Kingdom, a First World War veteran, and, for one month, the verified oldest living man in the wo ...

, the oldest living

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

World War I veteran, in his hometown. France's oldest veteran ever, 111-year-old

Maurice Floquet Maurice Noël Floquet (25 December 1894 – 10 November 2006) was, aged 111 and 320 days, France's former oldest man on record and was one of the last surviving French veterans of World War I. He is also France's longest-lived soldier of al ...

, sent his regards, but could not attend, because he was too frail to travel. Floquet subsequently died on the eve of

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

, November 10, 2006. Robert Meier was born to German parents in Sergejewka,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He was a member of the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

for 70 years, and worked as a railway worker. His wife Ella died in 1967; they had a son and a daughter. Robert Meier had a fine sense of humour; in 2006, he let the local press take his picture while he was wearing a World War I spiked helmet and a T-shirt with the slogan "109 - na und?" ("109 - so what?") on it. He was in good health keeping his own household until late 2006, and hospitalized only a few weeks before his death: he had a bad fall right before

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

and died about five weeks later on, just one day before he was scheduled to have an ulcer operation.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070927003048/http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4287169769&idx=16 * https://web.archive.org/web/20070211101345/http://www.wdr.de/themen/panorama/personen/aeltester_mann_deutschlands/060310.jhtml(with pictures) * https://web.archive.org/web/20070930194236/http://www.waz.de/waz/waz.blicknach.volltext.php?kennung=on1wazLOKStaWitten39109&zulieferer=waz&kategorie=LOK&rubrik=Stadt®ion=Witten&auftritt=WAZ&dbserver=1(with picture) {{DEFAULTSORT:Meier, Robert 1897 births 2007 deaths People from Witten German men centenarians German Army personnel of World War I German military personnel of World War II Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany