Supercentenarian Profile

Lucio Chiquito Caicedo

Born:

1916-05-22

Cali, Valle del Cauca,

Colombia

Current Residence:

Medellín, Antioquia,

Colombia

✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest

Lucio Chiquito Caicedo is a Colombian semi-supercentenarian who is currently the nation’s oldest living man.

BIOGRAPHY

Lucio Chiquito Caicedo was born on 22 May 1916 in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. From a young age, he displayed intellectual discipline and a strong inclination toward the exact sciences. He completed his secondary studies at the historic Colegio Santa Librada in Cali, where he received an education influenced by European teachers who instilled in him academic rigor. He later received a scholarship from the Governor of Valle del Cauca, which allowed him to move to Medellín to study civil engineering at the National University of Colombia, Medellín campus, where he graduated in 1941.

In the early 1940s, he traveled to the United Kingdom to continue his studies at the University of Manchester. There, he pursued advanced studies in science and technology with an emphasis on hydraulics, amidst the context of World War II. In 1947, he earned his master’s degree, an experience that solidified his reputation as one of the best-educated Colombian engineers of his generation.

Upon returning to Colombia, he was a founding partner and participant in the creation of important institutions, including Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), the engineering firm Integral S.A., Sedic S.A., Camacol (Colombian Chamber of Construction), and the School of Engineering of Antioquia. These entities played a decisive role in the expansion of infrastructure, construction, public services, and the training of engineers in the region.

In October 1948, he married Ofelia Ramirez Jaramillo, they had six children, whom would later give him 12 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Their marriage lasted for 67 years before his wife died in 2015.

Throughout his life, he combined professional practice with academic research. At the age of 73, in 1989, he applied for a doctorate to the University of Manchester, in which he was accepted. For over thirty years, he worked on a hydraulic problem related to determining the optimal flow rate of a river for the efficient generation of electricity. This work culminated in an extraordinary way when, at the age of 104, he completed and presented his doctoral thesis to the University of Manchester in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. His achievement was widely reported by national and international media as an example of intellectual perseverance and active longevity.

When asked the secret to his long life, he attributed it to consistent habits such as daily walks, a balanced diet rich in fruit, cold showers, continuous study routines, and always having projects underway. For him, constant mental activity was as important as physical health. His recurring phrase was, “Lost time never returns.”

He currently lives in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia.

RECOGNITION

Following the passing of 110-year-old Adolfo Camacho Ripoll on 23 December 2025, he became the nation’s oldest known living man.

His age was verified by Santiago García Medina, Gabriel Ainsworth, Fabrizio Villatoro, Jeffrey Xu, with assistance of his family, and validated by LongeviQuest on 3 March 2026.