Fredie Blom
| Fredie Blom | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 May 1904 (claimed) Adelaide, Cape Colony |
| 💀Died | 22 August 2020 (aged 116) Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa22 August 2020 (aged 116) |
| 🏳️ Nationality | South African |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for |
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Fredie Blom (8 May 1904 (claimed) – 22 August 2020) was a South African supercentenarian and longevity claimant.
Blom was named by South African media, as the oldest man in the world, having been issued a South African Government identity card[1], although his status is not verified and he has not been recognized by international standards either by the Gerontology Research Group or Guinness World Records[2]
He died on 22 August 2020 at the claimed age of 116 and 106 days.[3][4]
Biography
Blom claimed he was born on 8 May 1904 in the rural village of Adelaide, in the province of Eastern Cape, Cape Colony (then a British territory) near the Great Winterberg mountain. During his teenage years, he lost the rest of his family members who were all victims of the Spanish flu in 1918. He lived through apartheid.[1]
Blom spent most of his life working as a Black[5] labourer in the construction sector and on a farm during the apartheid period. He initially worked as a farm worker in Cape Town before joining the construction sector.[6] He was illiterate and never attended school during his childhood.[7] However, he could count.[8]
During an interview with the BBC in 2018, he revealed that there was no secret behind his longevity. He revealed that he was fond of smoking and wanted to eradicate this behaviour as soon as possible.[9]
In the same interview, Blom, a Black South African indicated that he was largely unaware of the political changes in South Africa that came with the end of the apartheid. He stated that the growing prevalence of crime in Delft, the city where he spent his later years, was the main change he has been able to observe compared to his youth.[9]
However, in another 2018 interview Fredie's wife Jeanette mentioned that their family had been directly impacted by the apartheid laws and that their forcible move to Delft from Ottery happened due to the infamous Group Areas Act. She stated: "In Ottery we lived in a huge house, so Fredie was upset when we were moved here - the house was tiny and he kept referring to the house as a pondotjie. But we gradually settled in."[10]
Personal life
Blom was married to his wife Janette for over 50 years.[2] They met at a dance event, where he reportedly attracted Janette with his jive movements.[11] In 2018, Blom became a homeowner for the first time in his life, when he and his wife received the deed to the council house in Delft where they had lived for 30 years.[8] He stated he had sympathies for the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, who he said "Doesn't know what he is doing."[2]
In July 2020, Blom was admitted to hospital after suffering breathing issues.[12]
On his alleged 116th birthday on 8 May 2020, Blom complained that he felt depressed and stressed regarding the lockdown imposed by the government due to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa as he was unable to find tobacco for cigarettes. He insisted that cigarettes were all that he needed to fulfil his 116th birthday.[13] He added that he would not let the COVID-19 pandemic panic him, and in an interview during his birthday he said that he lived this long due to God's grace.[14]
Death
Blom died at Tygerberg Hospital on 22 August 2020 .[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "'World's oldest man' dies aged 116 in South Africa". BBC News. 22 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Fredie Blom: Meet the South African who is the "world's oldest man"". Face2Face Africa. 11 May 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ France-Presse, Agence (22 August 2020). "Unofficial world's oldest man dies aged 116 in South Africa". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ Kassen, Jarita. "SA's Fredie Blom, one of world's oldest men, passes away". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "'World's Oldest Man' Is 114 Years Old, Smokes Every Day". Newsweek. 2018-05-29. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
- ↑ Post, The Jakarta. "One of world's oldest men marks 116th birthday in South Africa". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "'World's Oldest Man' Is 114 Years Old, Smokes Every Day". Newsweek. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Genevieve Serra (22 June 2018). "PICS: 114-year-old Fredie Blom finally gets his own house". Independent Online. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "'World's oldest man' wants to stop smoking". BBC News. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "Fredie Blom still enjoys life at 114". Independent Online (South Africa). 2018-07-15. Retrieved 2020-08-26.}
- ↑ hermesauto (9 May 2020). "One of the world's oldest men, Fredie Blom, marks his 116th birthday in South Africa". The Straits Times. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "Delft's Fredie Blom, 116, up and about again after breathing scare". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "No smokes to light up Cape Town man's 116th birthday". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ "Fredie Blom, one of world's oldest men, celebrates 116th birthday". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ↑ France-Presse, Agence (22 August 2020). "Unofficial world's oldest man dies aged 116 in South Africa". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
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