Susannah Mushatt Jones, the world's oldest person, died Thursday night at a senior housing facility in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 116. She was the last living person born in the 1800s and had held the title of oldest person in the world since April 1, 2015 when Misao Okawa died at the age of 117 in Tokyo (the title was disputed by a man in Brazil who claims to be 131, but Guinness World Records recognized Jones as the world's oldest person). Robert Young, a senior consultant for the Gerontology Research Group, told the Associated Press that 116-year-old Italian woman Emma Morano now holds the honor of being the world's oldest person.
Jones co-founded a college scholarship fund for African-American women and was active in her public housing building's tenant patrol up until age 106. She was known as "Miss Susie," according to NBC New York.
Jones was born in 1899 in Alabama and worked on her family farm before later becoming a nanny and moving to New York. Her niece Lois Judge told the AP that Jones loved kids, even though she never had any of her own and was only married briefly. Judge added that her aunt probably lived so long because she grew up eating fresh produce she picked herself, while other family members cited her generosity.
Robert Young did not immediately return Complex's request for comment.
