America's Oldest Man Dies At 112

George Francis Lived Through Both World Wars, Election Of First Black President

(AP)  George Francis, the nation's oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man's first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president, has died. He was 112.

Francis died Saturday of congestive heart failure at a nursing home in Sacramento, his son, Anthony Francis, said Sunday.

"He lived four years in the 19th century, 100 years in the 20th century, and 8 years in the 21st century. We call him the man of three centuries," said the younger Francis, 81.

UCLA gerontologist Dr. Stephen Coles, who maintains a list of the world's oldest people, said Francis lived 112 years and 204 days.

With Francis' death, Walter Breuning of Montana, who is 112 years, 98 days old, becomes the country's oldest living man. At 114, Gertrude Baines of Los Angeles is the nation's oldest living person. The world's oldest person is Maria de Jesus of Portugal, who is 115 years, 109 days old, and the oldest man is Tomoji Tanabe of Japan, who is 113 years, 101 days, Coles said.

Francis, who at his prime barely weighed more than 100 pounds, was born June 6, 1896, in New Orleans. As an African-American in the South, he felt the sting of the Jim Crow-era segregation laws in his early life.

His son said Francis tried to enlist in the U.S. Army during World War I but was turned down because of his stature.

"We always attributed his longevity to his mental and physical toughness," Anthony Francis said.

George Francis quit school after the sixth grade, became an amateur boxer as a young man and later worked as a chauffeur, an auto mechanic and a barber.

He and his wife, Josephine Johnson Francis, had a son and three daughters. Josephine Francis died of cancer in 1964.

Even in his waning days, Francis never lost his passion for politics, his family said. He voted for Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s and for Barack Obama in 2008.

In an interview with The Associated Press after Obama's victory, Francis, who used a wheelchair, said he felt like jumping up and down.

"He is going to give black men a break in the world, and give them a better opportunity to live and make more money," he said. "For people who say voting doesn't matter, I think that's crazy."

Anthony Francis said his father was devoted to his family and that he attributed his longevity to them.

"He said `My children and my friends, I live off of them,"' he said.

Besides his four children, Francis is survived by 18 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren.

[renojmc]

Lucky guy. He doesn''t have to live through an Obama administration.

[frogger581]

Wow. Uncalled for, period. You clearly aren''t an African-American, Renojmc, because after all the embarrasment and injustice, at the hands of people who were never any better or any different from him, that this man nust have suffered and seen his parents suffer through during his lifetime, you want to belittle that over your own personal political beliefs? Do the world a favor and please stop talking. You only have 2 feet to put in your mouth and pretty soon if you keep talking that way, other people are going to start offering their own to put in there.

[dnc4evr89]

Rest in peace old timer............

[antoniof123]

Lucky guy. He doesn''''t have to live through an Obama administration.
Posted by renojmc at 06:59 AM : Dec 29, 2008

You are a bigget and a moron and if I could say worst I would. This man lived in 3 centuries and saw the very things that we read about in history. The first flight both world wars. He is a true American you well I don''t think you have any love for your country or your fellow man.

Shut up and go crawl back in your hole.

[zzy-izzy]

Rest in peace

[clancy49]

I''m sorry the old man died. I wish he would have written down his history, now it is lost. It would have been interesting. As for voting for the first black president, may I correct this misinformation. We still do not have a black president. Obama said that he is a mutt. Here''s news, 98% of Americans are mutts, few have pure bloodlines even the indigenous peoples have few pure bloodlines. As always, the popular vote give the United States an American President. Obama is American. I am sick to death of these racist remarks.

[honestabe8]

Lucky guy. He doesn''''t have to live through an Obama administration.
Posted by renojmc

Neither do you.

[saj210]

Lucky guy. He doesn''''''''t have to live through an Obama administration.
Posted by renojmc at 06:59 AM : Dec 29, 2008

renojmc, YOU ARE A MORON, IGNORANT AND A FEW OTHER THINGS I COULD NAME, BUT WON''T.

It''s people like you who are disgusting. I guess you voted to McCain and his pit bull with lipstick.

I''ll bet you had no problems with Bush for the last eight years. War and poverty and it was okay with you RIGHT?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The election is over and America has spoken. You don''t like it, LEAVE!!!

[vranger]

"It''''s people like you who are disgusting. I guess you voted to McCain and his pit bull with lipstick."

So it was OK for you to vote for the candidate you prefered, but it wasn''t OK for anyone else to do so?

YOU, sir, are the disgusting hypocrit.

Why don''t we just dispense with elections in the future and put our fates under the control or your weak, weak mind? I don''t think so.

[mahdeealoo]

We had two in our family. An uncle who lived to 107 and my fraternal great grandfather who lived to the ripe old age of 109. Thier secret from which we surmise their longevity: walking, walking 20 or more miles at a time. Both were thin with NO belly fat.

[frogger581]

I''''m sorry the old man died. I wish he would have written down his history, now it is lost. It would have been interesting. As for voting for the first black president, may I correct this misinformation. We still do not have a black president. Obama said that he is a mutt. Here''''s news, 98% of Americans are mutts, few have pure bloodlines even the indigenous peoples have few pure bloodlines. As always, the popular vote give the United States an American President. Obama is American. I am sick to death of these racist remarks.


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Posted by clancy49 at 08:54 AM : Dec 29, 2008

Sorry to report this as a "black" person myself, because I do appreciate the true american melting pot that Obama represents, but in this country, with our history, if you had never heard of or seen him before, just saw him walking down the street, most people''s reaction would be to say "black man." Same thing happened with Tiger Woods, both his parents ethnicities are completely diluted, that didn''t stop Fuzzy Zoeller from making a fried chicken and watermelon joke. It''s unfair and unfortunate but this is where we are in this country. so yes, from the view of many blacks and many whites, we do have a black president. To make it more truthful you can say we have an african-american president.

[vcofreason]

Posted by frogger581 at 10:49 AM

Um, NO I would not say "black man". Djimon Hounsou is a black man, Obama is of mixed race, half white and half black. Tiger Woods is OBVIOUSLY of mixed race. Have you ever LOOKED at him? Half of the *** in Hollywood could be called black as dark as they are tanned. If people go by skin color to say black or white, they are the uneducated, oblivious ones.

These people who keep calling him black and what he''s going to do for the black man have a RUDE awakening coming. I''m just going to sit back and take it all in. I voted for neither one of the inexperienced losers and would NEVER join the sheep and choose a party. I''m an independent person with independent thoughts.

[vcofreason]

hahahahahahahahaha, they wouldn''t let the word s.k.a.n.k in. OMG that is hysterical. You can''t say g.a.y, s.e.x., d.a.m.n and now s.k.a.n.k. It''s almost worth typing as many words as you can to see what shows up and what doesn''t. The CBS Police are here to save us from ourselves!

[vcofreason]

Posted by willo1301 at 11:19 AM

Obama is not African-American. If he was, he would have been born in Africa, THEN came to America, became a citizen, THEN and only then could he be called that. His father, if he became a citizen here, then yes, that term would apply. This term was created to placate the whining blacks and their need to constantly be in the limelight. They cry ''racism'' when the big bucks are coming in lawsuits, however they walk around, "What up n*g*er!!!!" and say it in their music over and over, but THAT''s OK. What a joke. They are all hypocrits.

[vcofreason]

Obama''''s father was of African descent, his mother was an American....In my book that makes him an African/American...Why don''''t you get off of your band wagon and just accept it????? But wait!!! I get it...You are one of those who will pick apart anything to grab one minute bit of menutia to make an argument that you "think" may make you apear important...

Posted by willo1301 at 11:27 AM

Ok, took me a minute to wade through your grammar. Whew. I couldn''t care less about "APPEARing (note spelling please)important". What is important is fact.

The minions of PC concocted that stupid term to placate blacks. There is no acceptance when the term is incorrect. When you watch the news, the newscaster does not say, "The victim was an Irish-American man" or "The perpetrator was a Dutch-American". NEVER. They say, "The victim was white" or, "The suspect is a black male" (let''s be factual here, most of the time it IS a black male). It is a term to BABY blacks. Always has been.

There are MANY, MANY white people who were BORN (criteria for being African) in Africa and then CAME HERE and became a citizen. THEN they would be African-American. The term is STUPID.

[vcofreason]

one minute bit of menutia

Posted by willo1301 at 11:27 AM

Were you trying to say MINUTIA? I just wanted to make sure that I was using minutiae at all times. HAhahahahahahahahahaha

[mal1983]

Well, May God watch over the family of Mr. George Francis while they are in mourning. What an amazing gift to be able to have lived such a long time and see the world develop into what it is today. To have lived through the atrocities that he saw and to have lived through war after war and seen how this country has changed over the centuries is something I truely admire him for. And now to see another president elect, no matter his race, is amazing too. How many of us can say that we have lived to see many many presidents elected? And the fact that Barack is even half black, or a "mutt" as he even calls himself, was something that I am sure Mr. George Francis never thought he would see in his life but he did. What an amazing gift to have seen that before he went on to glory. Well, that is my opinion, and like I said, I pray that God watches over his family and keeps them safe.

[httpwwwnews]

It is debatable if Obama is the nation''s first black president or not, since he''s half white and half black. See: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

What''s disturbing is that many people voted for him because of perceived race rather than the belief that he would be the best qualified for the position. Racism is alive and well in the US and perptuated by those who would do well to help eradicate it rather than embrace it.

[thisandthat1]

httpwwwnews ... it just so happens that he WAS the best qualified candidate running this year.

[hambonehd]

it just so happens that he WAS the best qualified candidate running this year
Posted by thisandthat1..

You have lost your mind. He has no experience at all. Well, couple of years in Congress....
No military, government, economic, ..etc..!
I think a lot of this society today thought they were voting for American idol.!

[hambonehd]

And httpwwwnews you are right. Mr. Obama is biracial

[beader59]

It is amazing to me that Black Americans think Obama will change things for them. I personally hate racism and that include reverse reacism as well. As a President he will be a great role model, but what exactally do people think he can do to make things better for the Blacks. He can''t make Constitutional changes to protect just the Black people; he can''t create laws that will force idiots not to be prejudiced and unfortunately he can''t make things all better when it comes to race relations. As a White American, I condemn any sort of racial or bigoted behavior. I want the Blacks in our country to feel that they are not born into automatic adversity. But I feel that we need to do it at a grassroots level and keep fighting the racists with education and zero tolerance of racist attitudes. When you here racists remarks, stand up and say shut up. It takes courage, but we have to do it.

[mal1983]

It is amazing to me that Black Americans think Obama will change things for them. I personally hate racism and that include reverse reacism as well. As a President he will be a great role model, but what exactally do people think he can do to make things better for the Blacks... (read post to finish the rest) Posted by beader59 at 02:13 PM : Dec 29, 2008


I am in no way contradicting your views on the zeor tolerance policy for racism nor your personal beliefs on the subject. All I am going to say is that when talking about another race you need to be careful how you word your sentences. Saying things like "the black people" or "they" when refereeing to African Americans. It puts people into a category of being an object, like The chair, The desk. And using the word "they" in reference to any race automatically puts the entire race into the same category. Now that in reverse, if someone was to say all white people are the same, They are racist, now puts us into one large lump sum with no room for individuality.

[xxunknown]

what a boring news day.

[mykysmom]

Is this about politics or the the really old guy passing away? I get so mixed up on these threads. If its about the passing of the gentleman, rest in peace. I''m sure he had a story to tell. If its about politics,sorry wrong thread.

[lqqkdusty]

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A MAN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN. AFTER LISTENING TO WHY BLACK PEOPLE SAID THEY VOTED FOR OBAMA IS SCARY. AS ONE LADY SAID SHE WON''T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PAYING HER MORTGAGE OR CAR PAYMENT BECAUSE IF SHE CAN''T PAY IT THAT OBAMA WOULD...ANOTHER SAID BECAUSE HE IS A BLACK MAN AND HE WILL TAKE CARE OF HIS PEOPLE... OKAY, HIS MOTHER WAS WHITE! WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT I WOULD SAY THERE ARE A LOT OF BLACK PEOPLE THERE PREJUDICES AGAINST WHITE PEOPLE. THIS ELECTION SHOWED IT! AMEN.

[beader59]

Mal1983-I beg to differ with you. I respect people for you they are as they see themselves. I could have used African-American, but since I chose to also use White Americans I decided to be consistent in my descriptions of races. You imply that I compare other races as things, well your interpretation is wrong. I believe when describing a group of people, consistency is less racist and the use of them was about a group who wants to be seen as Black Americans or African Americans. Since when did using Black Americans become racist or condescending? I guess I better not refer to myself as a White American or use us or them to refer to this group. Get a grip!

[ddaymichael]

To be an effective president, you must be wise enough and charismatic enough to gather the very best minds around you. They give you the pros and they give you the cons and then the president must earn his pay...HE (or she) must decide.

Mr Obama has at least demonstrated some of these essential qualities (none of which seemed to be present in George W. Bush) Give him a chance...he can''t be any worse.

In any case, Mr Francis, you had quite a run. God bless and a good journey.

[dora_babe01]

You people may not think you are a bunch of racist "BUT NEWS FALSH YOU ARE". The majority of people period voted for Mr. Obama because he was the best choice period. Race played no part in our decision. When for the last 100 years people voted for a white president was it because he was white. I think not. Stop playing the race card with us afro americans we do have enough sense to know who and why we voted for a person. It''s not about his skin color.

[kansas1946]

(AP) George Francis, the nation''''s oldest man, who lived through both world wars, man''''s first walk on the moon and the election of the first black president,

I thought Clinton was the first black president. The Democrats and media said he was, so Obama must be the second black president.


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Posted by BRdeckard at 03:03 PM : Dec 29, 2008
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I don''t understand this post? I have never heard anywhere that Clinton was black. Is this just supposed to be a joke?

[lucy-in-tx]

NEWS FLASH:

This story is about a MAN who lived to be 112 years old! Not a political story or a story for anyone of any colour to vent their anger or political views on or about.

RIP, Mr. Francis, and may your rest in the arms of the angels be peaceful.