On his 110th birthday. (Source: Daily Mail)
✔ Age Certified by LongeviQuest
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Thomas Reginald “Reg” Dean was a British supercentenarian. His age has been validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and the European Supercentenarian Organisation (ESO), and recognised by LongeviQuest.
Reg Dean was born in Tunstall, Staffordshire, England, on 4 November 1902. Dean was ordained as a minister in 1932. During the Second World War, he volunteered as an Army chaplain and served in Burma and India.
He was married three times and had a son, Christopher. His first wife died, as he put it, “through curiosity.” While staying briefly at a house, she went down into the cellar and was accidentally locked in without anyone realizing; she later died of hypothermia. He described his second wife as “a great mystery.” His third wife, Anne, was a colleague, though their marriage eventually ended in separation.
In 1958, he began teaching at Herbert Strutt School in Belper, Derbyshire, where he remained for ten years. A vegetarian for more than 30 years, he served as a minister in both the Church of England and later the United Reformed Church, retiring only at the age of 80. At around 106, he moved into a flat in a care home in Derbyshire, having lived independently in his village until that time.
Dean often attributed his longevity to being lazy. Speaking at his 109th birthday celebration, he remarked, “I’m a member of the august fellowship known as the ‘lazy bones.’” On his 110th birthday, he joked that he owed his long life to a “mysterious brown-looking” elixir given to him by a doctor while he was serving as an Army chaplain in India. According to Dean, the doctor told him he had concocted a drink that would make him live forever. Being rather naïve at the time—and unable to refuse—Dean went ahead and drank it.
Reg Dean passed away in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England, on 5 January 2013, at the age of 110 years, 62 days.
Following the passing of 108-year-old Edward Anderson (26 May 1902 – 22 March 2011), he became the Oldest Living Man in the United Kingdom. Upon his own passing, he was succeeded by Ralph Tarrant.
Dean’s age was verified by Dr. Andrew Holmes, and was validated by the GRG and the ESO on 18 January 2015 and 22 January 2020 respectively.
* “The secret of living 110 years? Britain’s oldest man says it’s all to do with a magic potion from India” – Mail Online. 3 November 2012
* “110 not out! Britain’s oldest man” – Independent. 4 November 2012
* “Reg Dean, Britain’s oldest man, dies aged 110” – BBC News. 7 January 2013
At 11 months old. (Source: Daily Mail)
As a choirboy aged 12. (Source: Daily Mail)
In the 1940’s during his time with the British Army. (Source: Daily Mail)
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