Via Social Media, A&M Students Throw Birthday Party For Oldest Living Person

Students at Texas A&M University threw a birthday party, complete with cake, for the oldest living person on record in the world, Emma Morano, who at the age of 117 lives in Pallanza, Italy. Morano, born Nov. 29, 1899, is the last known person born in the 1800s who is still living today.

Via Facebook Live, the Morano family took part in the celebration organized by professor Dudley Poston's demography class. Melina Horstman '20 and fellow members of the Century Singers choral group sang “Happy Birthday” to Morano in Italian. 

Another of Poston’s students, Ashley Reynolds '20, had used FaceTime to interview Morano, and that interview was played back during the party. The 117-year-old answered questions and even sang a bit.

Poston, a world-renowned demographer, said the Morano project was apt for his students. “In my demography class, one of the most important topics we discuss is age composition and longevity,” he said.

“We learn that women live longer than men, Hispanics live longer than non-Hispanics, and African-Americans live the least number of years of anyone. My students also learn that people in the developed countries (Europe, the U.S. and Canada, Russia, Japan, and Australia) live longer than persons in the developing countries (the rest of the world).”

Read more, including Morano's secrets to a long life, in the full story at Texas A&M Today.