This is a list of Finnish supercentenarians (people from Finland who have attained the age of at least 110 years). The oldest person ever from Finland was Maria Rothovius, who died in 2000, aged 112 years 259 days.[1] All Finnish supercentenarians were born at a time when Finland was an autonomous state of the Russian Empire.

Finnish supercentenarians

  Deceased   Living

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Birthplace Place of death
or residence
01 Maria Rothovius[1]
F
 2 October 1887 17 June 2000 112 years, 259 days Uusimaa Pirkanmaa
02 Gunborg Hancock[2]
F
 20 April 1912 Living 111 years, 289 days Uusimaa Sweden
03 Hilda Häkkinen[1]
F
 18 March 1894 31 December 2005 111 years, 288 days South Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia
04 Selma Tuominen[3]
F
 19 July 1903 12 April 2015 111 years, 267 days Southwest Finland Southwest Finland
05 Aarne Arvonen[1]
M
 4 August 1897 1 January 2009 111 years, 150 days Uusimaa Uusimaa
06 Fanny Nyström[1]
F
 30 September 1878 31 August 1989 110 years, 335 days Southwest Finland Southwest Finland
07 Sirkka Nieminen[4]
F
 28 April 1912 13 January 2023 110 years, 260 days Southwest Finland Uusimaa
08 Saara Ahonen[5]
F
 24 November 1909 29 May 2020 110 years, 187 days Pirkanmaa Tavastia Proper
09 Astrid Qvist[6]
F
 6 March 1912 18 July 2022[7][8] 110 years, 134 days Ostrobothnia Ostrobothnia
10 Helfrid Eriksson[9]
F
 23 June 1908 23 October 2018 110 years, 122 days Uusimaa Ostrobothnia
11 Anna Hagman[1]
F
 27 December 1895 18 April 2006 110 years, 112 days Åland Åland
12 Helvi Kissala[10]
F
 26 October 1913 Living 110 years, 100 days Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa
13 Elsa Tilkanen[1]
F
 26 September 1896 5 December 2006 110 years, 70 days Southwest Finland Southwest Finland
14 Helvi Kärki[11]
F
 7 December 1906 23 January 2017 110 years, 47 days Pirkanmaa Tavastia Proper

Biographies

Aarne Arvonen

Aarne Arvonen (1897–2009), one of the oldest men ever documented, lived for 111 years and 150 days.

Aarne Armas Arvonen (4 August 1897 – 1 January 2009[12]) lived for 111 years and 150 days. He became the last known living Finn to have been born in the 1800s, a time when Finland was still an autonomous part of the Russian Empire.[12]

Arvonen was born in Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland. His mother died when the First World War broke out, and his father, a left-wing journalist and agitator, remarried.

He lost an eye after an accident playing with a gun. He was in the Red Guard in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, and later became its last surviving veteran. During the war, he was captured by the Whites during the battle of Joutseno and survived a year at the Tammisaari prison camp.[13] He married Sylvi Emilia Salonen and had two daughters, Irma and Paula. They lived in the Kallio district of Helsinki. When his wife died in 1938, he moved to Järvenpää, where he continued to work in his profession as a decorative carpenter. In the summer of 2005, Arvonen was still living in a house he had built himself.[citation needed] Eventually he moved into the Vanhankylänniemi rest home.[14] Arvonen had been interested in astronomy since childhood and in 1921 he became a founding member of the Finnish amateur astronomy association Ursa; his membership lasted nearly 87 years. He celebrated his 111th birthday in 2008 with his family.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Epstein, Louis; Young, Robert; Quesada, Miguel; Muir, Mark; Law, Chris; Wikkerink, Marco (1 January 2015). "Table B - Verified Supercentenarians (Ranked By Age)". Gerontology Research Group. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  2. ^ Aamisepp, Mattias (29 April 2023). ""Än finns det krut kvar i kärringen!"" ["There's still gunpowder left in the tank!"] (in Swedish). Tidningen Ångermanland. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Turkulainen: Suomen vanhin ihminen kuoli" [Turkulainen: Finland's oldest person died]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 14 April 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Sirkka Nieminen". LongeviQuest. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Saara Eva Elisabeth Ahonen".
  6. ^ "Astrid Qvist on elänyt niin vanhaksi, että sitä vaikea edes käsittää – tänään 110 vuotta täyttävän naisen teoria pitkän ikänsä salaisuudesta yllättää taatusti terveysintoilijat". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  7. ^ Björklund, Sara (20 July 2022). "Nordens äldsta person har dött – Närpesbon Astrid Qvist blev 110 år gammal". Hufvudstadsbladet (in Finnish).
  8. ^ "Finlands äldsta, Närpesbon Astrid Qvist dog i måndags – 110-årsdagen firades i mars". Syd-Österbotten (in Finnish). 20 July 2022.
  9. ^ Mattila, Sanni (24 October 2018). "Suomen vanhin ihminen Helfrid Eriksson on kuollut 110-vuotiaana" [Oldest person in Finland, Helfrid Eriksson, has died age 110]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  10. ^ Jokinen, Juha Veli (26 October 2023). "Helvi Kissala täyttää 110 vuotta: "Ei tunnu miltään"" [Helvi Kissala turns 110 years old: "It doesn't feel like anything"] (in Finnish). Iltalehti. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  11. ^ Vuorio, Jukka (24 January 2017). "Suomen vanhin ihminen Helvi Kärki kuoli 110 vuoden iässä" [Finland's oldest person, Helvi Kärki, dies at 110]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Suomen viimeinen 1800-luvulla syntynyt kuoli - HS.fi - Kotimaa". 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  13. ^ "At age 105, Aarne Arvonen still knows how to enjoy life" Helsingin Sanomat International Edition, 6 August 2002. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Suomi - Uutiset - Ilta-Sanomat". 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  15. ^ "Finland's oldest person turns 111 years old". 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
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