Emiliano Mercado del Toro
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{{Infobox_Person
|name = Emiliano Mercado del Toro
|other_names =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{birth date|1891|8|21}}
|birth_place = [[Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico]]
|death_date = {{death date|2007|1|24}}<br/>aged {{age in years and days|1891|8|21|2007|1|24}}
|death_place = [[Isabela, Puerto Rico]]
|title = world's oldest person
|occupation = former driver of farm products, such as sugar cane
|spouse = <!-- never married -->
|children = <!-- none -->
|relations = Delfin Mercado and Gumercinda del Toro
}}
'''Emiliano Mercado del Toro''' ([[August 21]], [[1891]] – [[January 24]], [[2007]]) was the world's [[oldest people|oldest person]] for six weeks, the world's oldest man from [[November 19]], [[2004]] until his death and is the oldest verified military veteran ever, although he was a non-combat veteran. He was also the last remaining documented person born in 1891.
He officially became the oldest documented living person on [[December 11]], [[2006]], following the death of [[Elizabeth Bolden]], who was 116.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-bolden12dec12,0,4958060.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california
|title=Elizabeth Bolden, 116; was world's oldest person |work=Obituaries, [[Los Angeles Times]] |date=[[December 12]], [[2006]] |accessdate=2006-12-12}}</ref> He was the 36th person to hold this title since its inception. He was one of the few males to hold this title: the 16 consecutive preceding holders were all female, and 39 of the top 40 oldest persons living at the time of his death were as well. Mercado was four years older than the currently recognized oldest living man, [[Tomoji Tanabe]] from [[Japan]]. The last male to have held the title was the latter's countryman [[Shigechiyo Izumi]] in 1986, although his [[longevity]] is disputed.
Mercado is the oldest verified person ever in the history of Puerto Rico. On [[May 21]], [[2006]], he reached the age of 114 years and 273 days, surpassing the previous recordholder, [[Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan]], who also made it to the world's oldest living person status.
When he died at the age of 115 years and five months, Mercado was the second-oldest fully validated male ever, close behind [[Christian Mortensen]], the current title-holder, and the fifteenth oldest person ever. He achieved the runner-up position on [[March 31]], [[2006]], when he surpassed the longevity mark of 114 years and 222 days set by Matthew Beard of the USA, who lived from 1870 to 1985.
He was buried at the Municipal Cemetery of his native town of Cabo Rojo, with mayors, legislators and Puerto Rican "vedette" [[Iris Chacón]] in attendance.<ref name=endi>[http://www.endi.com/noticia/puerto_rico_hoy/noticias/emotivo_adios_a_don_emiliano/151244 ™ El Nuevo Día]</ref>
==Biography==
Emiliano (sometimes 'Emilio') was born the son of Delfin Mercado and Gumercinda del Toro. Emiliano worked in the cane fields until the age of 81. He never married and never had children, but said he had three "girlfriends" (love interests) in his life.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0976910802/ Amazon.com: Earth's Elders - Wisdom, World's Oldest - p. 210: "Emiliano never married".]</ref>
===Accolades===
Mercado first came to the attention of longevity researchers in 2001, when a story ran about a 110-year-old veteran in a parade in Puerto Rico. After that, researchers tried to track him down, but only after the November 2004 death of [[Fred H. Hale, Sr.]] did someone finally start sending in documents. Following Fred's passing, Emiliano apparently became the oldest man in the world, with documents supplied so far including a birth certificate, baptismal certificate, 1910 census record and veteran ID card. By January 2005, Guinness had accepted Emiliano as the "oldest living man whose age could be fully authenticated."
In addition, as a veteran of [[World War I|the First World War]], he broke the record for longest-lived veteran of any military force that was set by [[Antonio Todde]], albeit as a non-combat veteran (Mercado was still in training camp when the [[November 11]], [[1918]] [[armistice with Germany (Compiègne)|armistice]] was declared).
In 1993, he was honored by U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] with the medal commemorating the 75th anniversary of the signing of the truce that ended World War I. Mercado del Toro, the elder of two siblings, had to move from his familiar [[Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico|Cabo Rojo]] grounds due to a fall he had in his home when he was 102, which affected his hipbone.<ref name=endi/> His 85 year-old niece took him to live with his relatives, and he was well taken care of by nieces and nephews - and their families, who called him ''"Tío Millo"'' ("Uncle Millo")- at their home in Isabela.
===Later life===
Mercado could reminisce about being a child when [[Spanish-American War|U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico]] in 1898, and he clearly remembered the fighting that marked the end of [[Spain]]'s colonial empire in the [[Americas]].
He credited his longevity to ''funche'', a boiled [[maize|corn]], [[cod]]fish and [[milk]] cream-like dish, which he ate every day as a habit. Mercado also claimed that his sense of humor was probably responsible for his long life, and he would tell jokes and humorous anecdotes almost to the end of his days. He would not elaborate on details of his love life, but would humorously hint about them: in one of the many interviews he gave to Puerto Rican media, Mercado claimed to be at the "dancing club" (euphemism for a [[brothel|bordello]]) owned by Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer (better known as [[Isabel la Negra|''"Isabel La Negra"'']]) the day she was assassinated. He was 83 years old at the time, and claimed to have hid under a table when Oppenheimer's killers started firing shots at the place. Asked what he was doing there, he said: "praying... or at least I was when the bullets started flying!"
His last two birthdays were media events in the town of Isabela. Civic leaders and veterans commended Mercado on his endurance and lucid mind, but the "gift" he would enjoy the most was the visit of Puerto Rican ''[[vedette]]'' and media icon Iris Chacón. In an interview, Mercado claimed to be a great fan of the artist, and particularly of her [[buttocks|derriere]] (''"That rump was something serious!"'', he was quoted as saying). Chacón visited Mercado, who could barely see or hear at the time, on his 114th birthday, and he was extremely pleased with her visit. His photo touching Chacón's [[buttocks|rear end]], with a big smile on his face, made newspaper headlines in Puerto Rico.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} She returned the following year to greet him. After hearing news of Mercado's death, Chacón was quoted as saying: "I feel like I've lost my own grandfather. I was blessed for knowing him, knowing that I made him happy, and blessed for the anecdotes and wishes he told me the times I met him. His wisdom is something I learned a lot from. His life is an example of how you're supposed to live your life, happily and doing good, for it will give you longevity and goodwill from everyone."
==See also==
* [[Veterans of the First World War who died in 2007]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* {{cite web|url=http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/SeniorStats/5-09-08USLongevity.htm
|title=Americans Becoming New Longevity Record Setters: 14 of Oldest 30
|work=Senior Journal
|author=Tucker Sutherland
|date=[[September 8]], [[2005]]
|accessdate=2006-12-12}}
* [http://home.coqui.net/prbox/AquiSiHay.jpg Emiliano Mercado and Iris Chacón]
* [http://www.endi.com/XStatic/endi/template/fotogaleria.aspx?sf=150272 Mercado photo gallery at Puerto Rican daily newspaper El Nuevo Dia]
* [http://www.endi.com/XStatic/endi/template/nota.aspx?n=149810 Obituary and more photos]
{{start box}}
{{succession box |
before = [[Elizabeth Bolden]] |
title = [[Oldest people|Oldest Recognized Living Person]] |
years = [[December 11]], [[2006]] — [[January 24]], [[2007]] |
after = [[Emma Tillman]]
}}
{{succession box |
before = [[Fred H. Hale, Sr.]] |
title = [[Oldest people|Oldest Recognized Living Man]] |
years = [[November 19]], [[2004]] — [[January 24]], [[2007]] |
after = [[Tomoji Tanabe]]
}}
{{end box}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercado del Toro, Emiliano}}
[[Category:1891 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:American military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican Army personnel]]
[[Category:Puerto Rican supercentenarians]]
[[da:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[et:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[el:Εμιλιάνο Μερκάδο ντελ Τόρο]]
[[es:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[fr:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
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[[nl:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[ja:エミリアーノ・メルカド・デル・トロ]]
[[pl:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
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[[fi:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[sv:Emiliano Mercado del Toro]]
[[zh:艾米利亞諾·梅爾卡多·德爾托羅]]