The world’s oldest person, Susannah Mushatt Jones, has died aged 116.
Ms Jones died at a nursing home in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday night, according to Robert Young, a senior consultant for the Gerontology Research Group.
He said she had been ill for the past 10 days.
Ms Jones was born in a small farm town near Montgomery, Alabama, in 1899. She was one of 11 siblings and attended a special school for young black girls.
Family members have credited her long life to love of family and generosity to others.
Ms Jones became Guinness World Records’ official oldest person when 117-year-old Misao Okawa died in Tokyo last year.
Mr Young said 116-year-old Emma Morano, of Italy, just a few months younger than Ms Jones, is now the unofficial world’s oldest person.