A man locals believed to have been the oldest person in the world has died.
Jose Paulino Gomes, an animal tamer by profession, passed away at his home in rural Corrego do Cafe, western Brazil, on Friday.
His 1917 marriage certificate reportedly had his birthday down as August 4, 1985.
If records are accurate, he would have died just days before his 128th birthday, as well as being born the same year as the discovery of x-rays, the establishment of the UK National Trust, and the foundation of the Nobel Prize.
He would also have pipped the current Guinness World Record holder for oldest person in the world. The title is currently held by Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, aged 115.
Mr Gomes was a widower and leaves behind seven children, 25 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren.
His granddaughter, Eliane Ferreira, told local press: ‘He was very simple, very humble. His uniqueness was that he didn’t like anything industrialised, only things from the countryside, natural.
‘He raised chickens, pigs… his food was all from here, had to be grown or raised here. And he always like to have a little drink.’
Fabiola Oliveira, another of his granddaughters, said: ‘Four years ago, he stopped riding horses. For about a month, he was in bed.
‘He will leave behind many stories and memories for all of us.’
His cause of death has been reported as multiple organ failure, likely due to old age, and his remains were laid to rest at the Corrego dos Fialhos Cemetery in Pedra Bonita, a mountain outside of Rio de Janeiro.
It follows just weeks after another of the world’s oldest people, John Farringdon, celebrated his 110th birthday in the UK.
Born a year after the sinking of the Titanic, Mr Farringdon celebrated his milestone birthday with whiskey, cake, ABBA songs and a card from the King and Queen.
Of the latter, he said: ‘To have this card on my birthday is the most wonderful thing on earth.
‘To be thought of by the King and Queen is the greatest thing I could have today. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.’
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