11 Of History’s Oldest People Ever, From A Traveling Herbalist To A Red Wine Enthusiast

Published December 5, 2023
Updated January 15, 2025

Mbah Gotho, The Indonesian Who May Have Been The Oldest Person To Ever Live

Was Mbah Gotho The Oldest Person To Ever Live

YouTubeMbah Gotho was a heavy smoker, but allegedly outlived his siblings, wives, and children.

In 2016, Mbah Gotho told reporters: “What I want is to die.” The following year, Gotho got his wish, when he was allegedly 146 years old.

Born in Indonesia, purportedly in 1870, Gotho outlived four wives, 10 siblings, and all of his children. He was a heavy smoker and was known in his village for telling stories about fighting the Japanese and the Dutch colonizers.

The key to his long life, he told the BBC at one point, was having “people that love me looking after me.” But was he truly 146 when he died?

Mbah Gotho's Id Card

NurPhoto SRL/Alamy Stock PhotoMbah Gotho showing off his ID card, which indeed marks 1870 as his birth year.

Officials in Indonesia have claimed that Gotho has paperwork that proves that he was born in 1870. However, as the BBC notes, Indonesia only started officially documenting births in 1900. What’s more, officials have made mistakes in the past. That makes Gotho’s actual birthdate difficult to verify.

Regardless, Mbah Gotho finally got his wish to die in 2017. After a brief, undefined illness, he passed away peacefully and was buried under the gravestone that he’d bought for himself decades earlier.

author
Kaleena Fraga
author
A senior staff writer for All That's Interesting since 2021 and co-host of the History Uncovered Podcast, Kaleena Fraga graduated with a dual degree in American History and French Language and Literature from Oberlin College. She previously ran the presidential history blog History First, and has had work published in The Washington Post, Gastro Obscura, and elsewhere. She has published more than 1,200 pieces on topics including history and archaeology. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
editor
Jaclyn Anglis
editor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Jaclyn Anglis is the senior managing editor at All That's Interesting, where she has worked since 2019. She holds a Master's degree in journalism from the City University of New York and a dual Bachelor's degree in English writing and history from DePauw University. In a career that spans 11 years, she has also worked with the New York Daily News, Bustle, and Bauer Xcel Media. Her interests include American history, true crime, modern history, and science.
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Fraga, Kaleena. "11 Of History’s Oldest People Ever, From A Traveling Herbalist To A Red Wine Enthusiast." AllThatsInteresting.com, December 5, 2023, https://allthatsinteresting.com/oldest-person-to-ever-live. Accessed July 25, 2025.