Does Longevity Run in Your Family?

Does longevity run in your family tree? Just recently, the world’s oldest living man was identified as 111-year old New Yorker Alexander Imich. The secret to his longevity? Imich credits good genes, a healthy diet and perhaps the fact that he and his wife never had children. His closest relative is an 84-year-old nephew.

Image: NBC New York

Imich was born on February 4, 1903 in Poland. Check out a few significant events that occurred the year he was born:

• The first teddy bear is introduced in America
• The Wright brothers made made the world’s first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight
•  The Ford Motor Company is founded and sells its very first car
• The first box of Crayola crayons is made and sold for 5 cents

He is the first to point out that he’s not the oldest living person in the world. There are 66 women who officially out date him, the eldest being Misao Okawa from Japan at the ripe age of 116.

If you’re interested in learning about more centenarians throughout history and the world, join others in the Centenarians genealogy project to discover which ancestors have hit the century mark and beyond.