Background
Fred Hale was born in New Sharon, Maine, on December 1, 1890.
Fred Hale was born in New Sharon, Maine, on December 1, 1890.
After the death of John Ingram McMorran in February 2003, at the age of 112 years, Hale was recognized as the oldest living man in the United States. In March 2004, at 113, he became the oldest living man in the world, following the death of the Spaniard Joan Riudavets. Hale is verified to be one of the ten oldest men in recorded history, as well as the oldest recorded person born in the state of Maine.
Hale spent his career as a railroad postal worker and a beekeeper.
In 1979, after 69 years of marriage, Flora died, leaving Hale to live independently for another 25 years. On their return trip, he stopped at Hawaii, where he surfed for the first time in his life.
Until the age of 103 he shoveled the snow off of his own roof, and he drove a car until the age of 108. After cataract surgeries at ages 109 and 110, he still had unusually good vision for a supercentenarian and continued to play cards until his death.
Family
At the time of his death, Hale had nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and eleven great-great-grandchildren.
Longevity
The Guinness World Records recognized Hale as the oldest licensed driver at 108 years old. According to Fred Hale III, he gave up driving because he found slow drivers annoying, and not due to his age. Amongst his honors and records, Hale was the oldest retired railway postal worker and the oldest registered beekeeper.
He often related the story of his last successful deer hunt at the age of 100 in Missouri.
Hale credited his longevity and lack of arthritis to eating bee pollen and honey every day, along with the occasional nip of whiskey. Death
Twelve days before his 114th birthday, Hale died in a nursing home in New York from complications of pneumonia.
He was buried in Farmington, Maine. After his death, Emiliano Mercado Delegate Toro took over as the world"s oldest manitoba