Bir Narayan Chaudhary

Bir Narayan Majhi Chaudhari (Nepali: वीर नारायण चौधरी; 1856? – 20 April 1998) was a Nepali man who claimed to be the oldest person ever. He died at the self-professed age of 141.^[1] Bir was unable to substantiate his longevity claims with documentation, and since he did not have a birth certificate The Guinness Book of Records did not identify him as the oldest person in the world.^[1]

Bir Narayan Chaudhary
वीर नारायण चौधरी
Born	1856 Nepal
Died	20 April 1998 Khanar, Nepal
Nationality	Nepali
Occupation	Cattle rancher
Known for	Claims of extreme longevity

According to Bir he was born in 1856, the son of a landowner.^[2] A cattle rancher in the village of Khanar, near Kathmandu, Chaudhari was purportedly a leader of the first land survey team in the area, conducted in 1888.^[3] A smoker throughout his later life, Chaudhari rose to prominence in the mid-1990s when Nepalese television and press began reporting on his claimed advanced age.^[2] In 1997, he was honored by Nepal's king Birendra.^[1]

Chaudhari had a son and a daughter with his first wife, both of whom predeceased him, and a daughter with his second wife.^[2] At the time of his death, in 1998, he had four grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.^[1]

See also

• Longevity myths