Tomás Pinales Figuereo, a Dominican man who claimed to have been 114 at the time of his death in 2020, has been officially validated as the former World’s Oldest Living Man (2019–2020) and as the oldest known person in the nation’s history.
The Global Validation Commission unanimously voted in favor of his validation after reviewing the documentation. Although the validation was approved in June, the announcement was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances.
Biography
Tomás Pinales Figuereo was born in Bajos de Haina, a town in the San Cristóbal province of the Dominican Republic, on 31 March 1906. He was one of nine children and outlived all of his siblings. He married, went on to father ten children, and worked at a sugar mill until the early 1950s, when he nearly lost his right thumb in a workplace accident. Although he rarely drank alcohol, he smoked for many decades until developing a lung disease in 1992.
By his 111th birthday, he had 33 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. All ten of his children were still living, and he resided with his daughter Ramona.
Pinales Figuereo passed away in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, on 24 September 2020, at the age of 114 years, 177 days.
Longevity Records
In January 2019, following the passing of Masazo Nonaka (Japan), he was a candidate for the title of World’s Oldest Living Man, although Gustav Gerneth (Germany) claimed to be older. When Gerneth died on 21 October 2019, Pinales Figuereo became the oldest known living man with age-supported documentation.
He held the title until his own passing in September 2020, when he was succeeded by Emilio Flores Márquez (Puerto Rico).
To this day, he remains the nation’s oldest documented person ever, and is still among the top 10 oldest documented men ever.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to his family and loved ones, and our gratitude for their assistance in the validation process.
