Dumitru Comanescu
- Full name: Dumitru Comanescu
- Lifespan: (21.11.1908 – 27.06.2020)
- Age: 111 years, 219 days
- Birthplace: Draganeasa, Prahova, Kingdom of Romania
- Last residence: Bucharest, Romania
- Application date: 25.12.2019
- Validation date: 15.06.2020
- Validation source: Guinness World Records/Dr. Bogdan Alexandrescu/Robert Young/Mihai Matei
Biography
Comanescu was born on 8 November 1908 (now 21 November since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar) in Provita de Jos in Draganeasa, Prahova County, Romania. Reportedly, he has a memory of the 1918 Great Union. At university, he studied mathematics and agronomy and graduated in 1933.
Comanescu was an agronomist engineer and one of the most valuable phytopathologists, being the disciple of the founder of the Institute of Agronomic Research, Gheorghe Ionescu Sisesti. Initially, he enrolled in the Faculty of Mathematics, having as a teacher one of the greatest mathematicians, Gheorghe Titaica. He would then find his vocation in the world of plant research. Comanescu worked for over 70 years until 2003. When he was 86, a competition for agricultural experts was organized in Bucharest. He took part in it and, out of dozens of candidates, he took 5th place in the country.
After college, Comanescu moved to Targoviste, where he met his wife, who was a pediatrician and a primary cousin of nuclear physicist Horia Hulubei. They got a son and a daughter. After the death of his wife in 1990, Comanescu moved to his daughter and son-in-law in Bucharest. At the age of 108, he had a hip fracture but no hospital was able to operate on him. Eventually, he went to the Foisor Hospital where he was considered ‘a local attraction’ for both doctors and patients.
Comanescu may be the oldest man ever to have lived in Romania. He became a candidate for the World’s Oldest Man title after the death of 112 year-old Bob Weighton on 28 May 2020. Guinness World Records recognized him as the new world’s oldest living man retroactively (after his death). He died in Bucharest, Romania, on 27 June 2020 at the age of 111 years, 219 days (232 days based on the old calendar). Three days before his death, he was awarded the Patriarchal Cross, the highest ecclesiastical decoration of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Longevity titles
- Longevity recordholder of Romania
- Doyen of Romania
Validation
Dumitru Comanescu’s age was verified by Guinness World Records, Dr. Bogdan Alexandrescu, Robert Young, Mihai Matei, and validated by the GRG on 15 June 2020.
Dumitru Comanescu at age 111.
Dumitru Comanescu as a young boy.
Dumitru Comanescu with his parents.
Dumitru Comanescu at age 110.
Dumitru Comanescu on his 111th birthday.
