Anna Eliza Williams

Who was Anna Eliza Williams?

Anna Eliza Williams was a British supercentenarian and the oldest person in the world from 2 February 1987 until her own death nearly eleven months later.

She was born at Burford, Shropshire, and died on 27 December 1987 at the Tuxedo Old People's Home, 104 Eaton Crescent, Swansea, Wales, aged 114 years 208 days, having moved to Swansea after her marriage. Her husband - William Henry Williams, a carpenter - died in 1954. Williams attributed her longevity to "a life of idleness", along with "being a non-smoker and eating lots of vegetables". There was also a history of longevity in her family: her mother lived to be 98 and all seven of Williams' siblings lived beyond the age of 80, one surviving to 101. In addition, her daughter Constance Harvey celebrated her 107th birthday in October 2013. Williams broke the British longevity record on 12 July 1985.

On her 114th birthday Norris McWhirter paid her a visit at the Tuxedo Old People's Home, where she was living at the time. McWhirter brought her a spray of flowers and birthday card. She was listed in the Guinness Book of Records in the 1980s and early 1990s.