BIOGRAPHY

Albina was born as Mathilde Octavie Tafna in Lamentin, Guadeloupe, France, on 16 March 1895 as the second and youngest child of Brice Tafna and Noémie Soleil. Her older brother, Frumence, was born in 1892. Her father remarried twice, having another daughter, Eclariste, in 1905. All four of Albina’s grandparents were born into slavery.

Albina was married and had no children. She died in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, on 1 May 2007 at the age of 112 years, 46 days as the department’s first known supercentenarian.

RECOGNITION

Albina’s age was verified by Laurent Toussaint and validated by the GRG on 22 August 2005.

It is currently uncertain when Albina became Guadeloupe’s oldest person or when she attained the departmental longevity record, but she was succeeded as the oldest known resident by Marie Cayol (1896 – 2007) and the longevity record for Guadeloupe was broken by Marthe Roch in 2019.

ATTRIBUTION

• Jacques Vallin. Why are supercentenarians so frequently found in French Overseas Departments? The cases of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Genus, 2020, 76 (26), pp.1-17.

GALLERY