Fredie Blom
Born8 May 1904 (claimed)
DiedAugust 22, 2020(2020-08-22) (aged 116)
SpouseJeannette[1]
Children3

Fredie Blom (8 May 1904?[note 1] – 22 August 2020) was a South African claimed supercentenarian. He claimed to have been born on 8 May 1904, which would have made him 116 years old when he died of natural causes on 22 August 2020. While Blom had a South African identity card listing his birth date, Guinness World Records never verified the claim.[2][3][4][5] He was known for regularly smoking, and was reportedly the oldest man after Violet Brown, a Jamaican, died at 117 years old on 15 September 2017.[6][7][8]

Blom was born in Adelaide, Eastern Cape, and while he was still young moved to Cape Town. A significant part of his family died in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.

Blom spent most of his life working as a Black[9] labourer in the construction sector and on a farm during the apartheid period. He initially worked as a farm worker in Cape Town before joining the construction sector.[10] He was illiterate and never attended school during his childhood.[11] However, he could count.[12]

Blom worked installing 'vibracrete' walls, a type of concrete, retiring from that job after he was over 80 years old. His 116th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic was widely covered. He married and had three children, before dying on 22 August 2020 at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town.[6][13][14][15]

References

Notes

  1. claimed

Sources

  1. "'Unofficial' world's oldest man Fredie Blom dies in South Africa". Deccan Herald. 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  2. "Fredie Blom: 'World's oldest man' dies aged 116 in South Africa". BBC News. 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  3. Kassen, Jarita. "SA's Fredie Blom, one of world's oldest men, passes away". Eyewitness News. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  4. "Fredie Blom, survivor of two world wars and apartheid, dies aged 116". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  5. "Is Fredie Blom the world's oldest man at 114?". The Cape Times. 9 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 "South African 'world's oldest man' wants to stop smoking". BBC News. 2018-05-28. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  7. Dovey, Dana (2018-05-29). "The oldest living man in the world still lights up on the regular". Newsweek. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  8. Bever, Lindsey. "At age 114, this South African man thinks it's time to quit smoking". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  9. "'World's Oldest Man' Is 114 Years Old, Smokes Every Day". Newsweek. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  10. "One of world's oldest men marks 116th birthday in South Africa". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. "'World's Oldest Man' Is 114 Years Old, Smokes Every Day". Newsweek. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  12. Genevieve Serra (22 June 2018). "PICS: 114-year-old Fredie Blom finally gets his own house". Independent Online. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  13. "Unofficial world's oldest man dies aged 116 in South Africa". The Guardian. 2020-08-22. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  14. "One of the world's oldest men, Fredie Blom, marks his 116th birthday in South Africa". The Straits Times. 2020-05-09. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  15. "South Africa's oldest living man turns 116". Capetown ETC. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
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