Chief John Smith, The Native American Who Claimed To Be 137 Years Old
Wikimedia CommonsChief John Smith claimed to be 137 when he died, but it’s proven difficult to verify his age.
Shortly before Chief John Smith died in 1922, he claimed to be 137 years old. And he looked it. The Chippewa Native American’s face was so carved with wrinkles that some members of his community called him Ga-Be-Nah-Gewn-Wonce, which translates to “wrinkled meat.”
But was John Smith really born in 1785, as he claimed?
After his death, many tried to confirm Smith’s age. Smith had reportedly said that he was between eight and 10 when “the stars fell,” which could have been a reference to the Leonid meteor shower of 1833. This, however, would make Smith closer to 100 years old at the time of his death instead of 137.
Public DomainBased on some claims that John Smith made, he may have indeed been very old — though perhaps not 137.
The Chippewa man also claimed to remember battles that had taken place before the dawn of the 19th century, and said that he’d fought in the War of 1812. If that’s true, Smith would have been around the age of 18, putting his birth year closer to 1794 and his ultimate age at about 128 (still impressive).
Regardless of Smith’s actual age, he appeared to have lived an active and long life. He was reportedly married eight times, had survived being hit by a train, and entertained visitors with wild stories until his final days.
He would have had plenty of stories to tell. If Smith was indeed 137 when he died, he would have witnessed the beginning and end of the 19th century.
