SAN FRANCISCO – George Francis, the nation's oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man's first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president, has died. He was 112.

Francis died Saturday of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Sacramento, his son, Anthony Francis, said Sunday.

"He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries," said the younger Francis, 81.

UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles, who maintains a list of the world's oldest people, said Francis lived 112 years and 204 days.

With Francis' death, Walter Breuning of Montana, who is 112 years, 98 days old, becomes the country's oldest living man. At 114, Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles is the nation's oldest living person. The world's oldest person is Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who is 115 years, 109 days old, and the oldest man is Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, who is 113 years, 101 days, Coles said.

Francis, who at his prime barely weighed more than 100 pounds, was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. As an African-American in the South, he felt the sting of the Jim Crow-era segregation laws in his early life.

His son said Francis tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature.

"We always attributed his longevity to his mental and physical toughness," Anthony Francis said.

George Francis quit school after the sixth grade, became an amateur boxer as a young man and later worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber.

He and his wife, Josephine Johnson Francis, had a son and three daughters. Josephine Francis died of cancer in 1964.

Even in his waning days, Francis never lost his passion for politics, his family said. He voted for Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and for Barack Obama in 2008.

In an interview with The Associated Press after Obama's victory, Francis, who used a wheelchair, said he felt like jumping up and down.

"He is going to give black men a break in the world, and give them a better opportunity to live and make more money," he said. "For people who say voting doesn't matter, I think that's crazy."

Anthony Francis said his father was devoted to his family and that he attributed his longevity to them.

"He said `My children and my friends, I live off of them,'" he said.

Besides his four children, Francis is survived by 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren.


[Edited 12/29/08 9:42am]

I read about him 1st thing this morning



may he rest in peace

Mach said:

Amazing that all of his kids are still alive. And look at that full head of hair, he was looking great for 112.
[Edited 12/29/08 9:44am]

Why is it sad, the guy lived to 112? We would all like to be that alive.

My grandmother lived to 99, just 3 months shy of her 100th birthday! May she rest in peace. Now, may I say, she had a shot of Jose Cuervo tequila everyday before lunch "to help her appetite" she had eggs almost everyday for breakfast. She adored fried foods, fried in LARD no less. She was naturally slim, but never ever had exercised. and yes she almost made it to 100!

I wish I live that long.

2freaky4church1 said:

I don't find it sad at all

2freaky4church1 said:

Oh, I dunno cuz somebody lost a loved a one.

SCNDLS said:

I can hold sympathy for his loved ones

though I do not find death - a fact of life - sad

May he rest in peace.


Congrats on a nice, long life!

Dedicated to his pain:


Room 112, where the playas dwell!

Aww... not that he died (long life & all), but that he died in Sacramento