First light bulb, world wars: 11 historic events the oldest man in the world has lived through

Natashya Gutierrez

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First light bulb, world wars: 11 historic events the oldest man in the world has lived through
The oldest man alive was born in 1870 making him 145 years old. Here are some historic events witnessed by Mbah Gotho over the course of his lifetime.

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Earlier this week, official documentation showed that the world’s oldest human alive is a whopping 145 years old.

Indonesian Mbah Gotho’s official identification, as confirmed by the archives office in Sragen, Sodimejo, shows that Gotho was born on December 31, 1870.

This makes him the oldest human who has ever lived. 

At 145, what are the historic events Gotho has lived through? Gotho tells stories of his younger days as a fisherman when he went on dives to catch fish by hand. 

Here are 11 other things that put in perspective just how old Gotho is:

1. In 1876, when Mbah Gotho was 6 years old, the prototype telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. 

2. In 1874, The Impressionist painters Monet, Renoir, Pissaro, Cezanne, and Edgar Degas among others, gathered for their first exhibition together in Paris.

3. In 1879, when Gotho was 9 years old, Thomas Edison invented the first version of a light bulb. 

4. In the 1880s, France colonized Indochina.

5. In 1882, when Gotho was 12, the electric fan with two blades was invented by Schuyler Wheeler of Massachusetts.

6. When Gotho was 16, in 1886, Coca Cola was invented.

7. In 1890, when Gotho was 20 years old, the first ever movie was produced. It was under a minute long and silent.

8. It was not until Gotho was 44, when the first commercial airline flight was conducted in 1914. In 1924, 10 years later, the first commercial flight from Holland to Indonesia took place as photographed below.

9. Gotho also lived through World War I and World War II.

10. When Gotho was 75 years old, Indonesia gained its independence from the Dutch in 1945.

11. And in 1990, when Gotho was 120 years old, the solar system was photgographed for the first time ever.

Image from NASA

What other historic events happened in the last 145 years that Gotho lived through? Tell us in the comments below! – Rappler.com

Vintage old telephone from Shutterstock.

Indochina map, Monet painting, electric fan, Coca Cola, movie theatre, airplane, World War I, Indonesian independence photos from Wikimedia.

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.