Puerto Rico’s Emilio Flores Marquez has become the world’s oldest living man at the age of 112 years and 326 days old, the Guinness World Records has announced.
Marquez, who was born in Carolina, east of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan in 1908, was recognised by Guinness and awarded a certificate.
Asked about his longevity, Marquez known as “Don Milo” to his friends said the secret to his advanced years lay in compassion. “My dad raised me with love and taught me to love everyone. He always told me and my brothers and sisters to do good, to share everything with others. Besides, Christ lives in me,” Guinness quoted him as saying, reports news agency AFP.
The second oldest child of 11 siblings and his parents’ first-born son, Marquez worked on the family’s sugarcane farm and received only 3 years of formal schooling.
The previous oldest living man was recognised by the Guinness World Records as Romania’s Dumitru Comanescu, who died on June 27, 2020, at the age of 111 years 219 days. After Comanescu’s death, the Guinness received evidence Marquez had been born three months earlier than the previous record holder.
“It’s always an honour to celebrate these remarkable human beings, and this year we’ve processed applications from not one but two contenders for the title of oldest living man,” Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief at Guinness World Records, said.
