On Monday, a woman who has lived in parts of three centuries celebrated her 116th birthday. Susannah Mushatt Jones was born July 6, 1899 in Lowndes County, Ala.
Growing up in Brooklyn, she has lived under the government of 20 presidents and witnessed the birth of breakthroughs in technology such as the airplane, television and internet. She was raised by a poor family, her father supporting them by picking cotton. She studied in Calhoun Colored School in Calhoun, Ala. She graduated in 1922 and later moved to New York in 1923 where she worked as a housekeeper and child-care provider. She later got married, but when asked about her husband, she said, "I don't know what happened to him." She never had any children but had 100 nephews and nieces, according to CNN.
She spent most of her time in New York helping the needy. Together with her fellow high school graduates, she started a scholarship fund for young African-American girls to finish college. She was active in community service until she was 106 years old. In spite of glaucoma and poor hearing, Jones rarely visits her doctor and would do so but for some other reason. All she takes are medication for high blood pressure and a multivitamin every day, according to USA Today.
Gerontology Research Group (GRG) stated that Jones celebrated the occasion privately with her family. She believes that the secret to her long life is "lots of sleep" and being surrounded by good relationships and positive energy.
After the death of Jeralean Talley at age 116 in Michigan, Jones now holds the title of the world's oldest woman alive. Beating the record of the world's oldest man, Sakari Momoi of Japan who died at the age of 112, Jones has people focused on whether she could make it further than France's Jean Calmet who died at 122, according to ABC News.
