Never Too Late

Posted October 2, 2007, 6:08 pm by Growing Bolder


At Age 60

    * In 1965, Satchel Paige throws three innings for Kansas City, becoming the oldest player to ever pitch in the Major Leagues.

At Age 62

    * In 1885, Louis Pasteur gives the first injection against rabies.
    * In 1969, John Wayne wins an Oscar for "True Grit."

At Age 68

    * In 1966, Lillian Carter, President Jimmy Carter's mother, joins the Peace Corps and spends the next two years working as a nurse near Bombay, India.

At Age 70

    * Fitness guru Jack LaLanne tows 70 boats with 70 people from New York's Queen's Way Bridge in the Long Beach Harbor to the Queen Mary for 1 1⁄2 miles. Oh, and he was handcuffed, shackled and fighting strong winds and currents at the time.

At Age 73

    * In 1981, Rex Harrison launches an 11-month tour in "My Fair Lady." Cathleen Nesbitt, 92, plays his mother.

At Age 74

    * In 1981, Katherine Hepburn stars in "On Golden Pond" with 76-year-old Henry Fonda.

At Age 76

    * In 2002, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to advance democracy and human rights.
    * In 1994, Nelson Mandela becomes the first black president of South Africa.
    * In 1819, Thomas Jefferson opens the University of Virginia after designing its buildings and planning its curriculum.

At Age 77

    * In 1998, John Glenn returns to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery, becoming the oldest person to ever fly in space.
    * In 1951, Winston Churchill returns to power as prime minister of England.

At Age 78

    * In 2004, Alan Greenspan begins his fifth term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

At Age 79

    * In 1900, Clara Barton spends six weeks directing flood relief efforts for victims of the Galveston, Texas floods.

At Age 80

    * In 1555, Michelangelo is still painting, sculpting and writing poetry.

At Age 82

    * In 1994, Fred Lasby completes a solo around-the-world flight in his single-engine Piper Commanche.
    * In 1976, Norman Rockwell completes his final painting.

At Age 83

    * In 1789, Benjamin Franklin adds to a long list of inventions with something every midlifer can use -- bifocal glasses.

At Age 86

    * In 1961, Robert Frost recites his poem "The Gift Outright" from memory at the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.
    * In 1995, Frank Lloyd Wright is still designing homes and buildings and publishes, "The Natural House."

At Age 88

    * In 1997, Mother Teresa is still working with the Missionaries of Charity.
    * In 2007, Andora Quinby, who took up weightlifting at age 78, smashes the world record for her age group by dead lifting 100 pounds. (Click here to listen to GB's interview with Andora)

At Age 89

    * In 1979, Colonel Harlan Sanders is traveling 245,000 miles a year visiting Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants worldwide.

At Age 90

    * In 1971, Pablo Picasso is still at work as a painter, as is Georgia O'Keefe in 1977.
    * In 2005, "Banana George" Blair becomes the oldest person to ever go barefoot waterskiing. (Click here to watch him in action)

At Age 93

    * In 2007, the legendary Frankie Manning releases his autobiography, "Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop." It reaches No. 7 on Amazon.com's best-seller list. To celebrate, a swing dance party is planned with Frankie leading the way on the dance floor. (Click here to listen to GB's interview with Frankie)

At Age 94

    * In 1978, Catherine Booth, commissioner of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom, is chosen Toastmaster's Best Speaker of the Year.
    * In 2006, Buck O'Neil signs with minor league team and becomes the oldest man to ever play professional baseball.

At Age 96

    * In 1993, Stanley Wood of Shoreham-by-Sea, England, is at the controls of a Piper Cherokee, capping a flying career that spans more than 80 percent of the history of aviation.

At Age 97

    * In 2007, Roger Gentilhomme earns his fifth trip to the Senior Olympics by capturing gold medals in shuffleboard, bowling and tennis at the Florida Senior Games. He's named the state's male athlete of the year. (Click here to listen to GB's interview with Roger)

At Age 98

    * In 1976, Dimitrion Yordanidis becomes the oldest person to complete a marathon. In Athens, Greece, he runs 26 miles in 7 hours, 33 minutes.

At Age 100

    * In 1960, Grandma Moses illustrates Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas." It's published after her death.
    * In 1994, Ichijirou Araya climbs Mt. Fuji in Japan, a 12,388-foot mountain.

At Age 102

    * In March 1971, Alice Pollock of Haslemere, England, publishes her first book, "Portrait of My Victorian Youth."
    * In 1991, Minnie Munro marries Dudley Reid, 83, in New South Wales, Australia.

At Age 109

    * Ruth Hamilton says she asks God why she's still living. "And all I hear is 'shut up.'" (Click here to watch her 109th birthday party.)

At Age 116

    * In 1981, Shigechiyo Izumi, the world's oldest person, is visited on his birthday by the prime minister of Japan.

At Age 122

    * In 1997, Jeanne Louise Clement of France dies. She's the oldest living person whose date can be authenticated. She took up fencing at 85, still rode a bicycle at 100 and released a rap CD at 121.

At Ages 900+

    * The Book of Genesis says that Adam died at 930, Noah at 950 and Methuselah at 969. Methuselah checked out just in time -- the same year as Noah's flood.


   

   
 

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