World's oldest man Alexander Imich dies aged 111

The Polish-born New Yorker died “peacefully” his friends confirm

The world’s oldest man died Sunday 8 June, aged 111.

Polish-born Alexander Imich died “peacefully”, according to friends Michael Mannion and Trish Corbett who had been caring for him. He had been based in New York on the Upper West Side.

Imich was born on 4 February 1903 in Poland and fled with his wife after the Nazis invaded in 1939. They immigrated to the US in the 1950s and he moved to New York following the death of his wife in 1986.

“I don't know, I simply didn't die earlier,” he said in an interview with NBC last month, when asked about the secret to his impressive age.

“I have no idea how this happened.”

He had previously accredited his longevity to “good genes”; his father having lived until his Nineties.

His achievements included a Phd in Zoology and an anthology, entitled Incredible Tales of the Paranormal, which he edited at the age of 92.

He was named the oldest man on the planet in April, determined by the Gerontology Research Group of Torrance, California.

Although Imich held the title of the oldest living man, there are 66 women who are older than him, and the oldest of them, Misao Okawa of Japan, is 116.