Old Tom Parr

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Thomas Parr
Born	1483 (1483)? Shrewsbury, England
Died	14 November 1635 (1635-11-15) (aged 152?) London, England
Nationality	English
Occupation	Soldier

Thomas Parr (1483? – 14 November 1635) was an Englishman who supposedly lived for 152 years.^[1] He is often referred to simply as Old Parr or Old Tom Parr.

[edit] Biography

Parr was said to have been born in 1483 near Shrewsbury, possibly at Wollaston. He supposedly joined the army around 1500 and did not marry until he was 80 years old. He had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Parr attributed his long life to his vegetarian diet and moral temperance, although when he was about 100 years old he purportedly had an affair and fathered a child born out of wedlock. After the death of his first wife, he married a second time at the alleged age of 122.

As news of his purported age spread, 'Old Parr' became a national celebrity and was painted by Rubens and Van Dyck. In 1635, Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, visited Parr and brought him to London to meet Charles I. Charles asked what Parr had done that was greater than any other man, and the latter replied that he had performed penance (for his affair) at the age of 100.

Parr was treated as a spectacle in London, but the change in food and environment apparently led to his death. The king arranged for him to be buried in Westminster Abbey on November 15, 1635.^[1] The inscription of his gravestone reads:

Marcadores: Inglaterra, supercentenários

# posted by Rui F. Souza @ 7:01 PM