Saturnino de la Fuente García, who was named the world’s oldest man by Guinness World Records in September of 2021, has died at the age of 112, according to Guinness.
De la Fuente García reportedly died at his home in León, a city in northwest Spain. He was born Feb. 11, 1909, and lived to be 112 years and 341 days old. The record tracking company crowned him the World’s Oldest Man at 112 years and 211 days old.
Guinness reported that de la Fuente García was confirmed to be the oldest living person by Senior Gerontology Consultant Robert Young. De la Fuente García was a cobbler and in his youth survived the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. When he wasn’t working diligently at his craft, he also found great joy in playing soccer. He co-founded Puente Castro FC, a local soccer club in his town, and was honored on his 110th birthday for being the oldest member of the club.
He is survived by his seven daughters, 14 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren. Interestingly, de la Fuente García told Guinness that because of his short stature, he was nearly five feet tall, he didn’t have to enlist in the Spanish Civil War, which lasted from 1936-1939.
In other news, USA Today reported that the world’s oldest person, Kane Tanaka, celebrated her 119th birthday in a nursing home in Fukuoka, Japan on Jan. 3.
