BIOGRAPHY

Anna Eliza Williams was born on 2 June 1873 in Burford, Shropshire, England. Upon leaving school, she began to work as a domestic cook. In 1906, she married William Henry Williams, and the couple moved to Wales shortly thereafter, settling in the Welsh city of Swansea. The couple remained married until her husband’s death in 1954.

On 5 June 1975, at the age of 102, Williams voted for the UK to stay in the common market during the EEC membership referendum. She personally delivered her “yes” vote to Swansea’s referendum returning officer. She received some media attention for this, as she was one of the oldest voters in the country at the time.

Anna Eliza Williams died on 27 December 1987 at the age of 114 years, 208 days.

Williams’s daughter, Connie Harvey (8 October 1906 – 18 June 2014) lived to the age 107 years, 253 days. This gave the mother and daughter pair a combined age of 222 years, 96 days, which is one of the longest combined parent and child lifespans ever recorded.

RECOGNITION

Following the death of Shigechiyo Izumi on 21 February 1986, she was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest living person, although Izumi’s age has since been disputed by researchers.

ATTRIBUTION

* “AT AGE 112, THIS BRITON IS 1 FOR THE BOOK” Chicago Tribune, 25 February 1986

* “Britain’s Anna Eliza Williams, World’s Oldest Person, Dies”
The News-Journal, 30 December 1987

GALLERY