Starting with a 109-year-old great-great-great-great-grandmother and ending with a baby still in the womb, we present a selection of GWR’s youngest record-breakers…
On 21 Jan 1989, Augusta Bunge (USA, b. 13 Oct 1879) learned that she had become a great-great-greatgreat- grandmother at the age of 109 years, when her great-greatgreat- granddaughter gave birth to a son, Christopher John Bollig.
When the world’s oldest person Jennie Howell (USA) died on 16 Dec 1956, Anne Marie Carsterson (USA, b. 24 Jan 1849) became not only the oldest person alive, but also the youngest person to hold that title – a record still unbeaten as of 20 Mar 2017.
Theodore Roosevelt (b. 27 Oct 1858) succeeded to the US presidency on 14 Sep 1901, with the assassination of his predecessor, William McKinley. The youngest elected US president was John F Kennedy (b. 29 May 1917), who was 43 years 236 days old at his inauguration on 20 Jan 1961.
Charlie Duke (USA, b. 3 Oct 1935) became the youngest person to land on the Moon, aged 36 years old, when he touched down on 21 Apr 1972 during the Apollo 16 mission.
Edward “Bear” Grylls (UK, b. 7 Jun 1974) was 34 years old when his appointment as Chief Scout was confirmed. The announcement by the Council of the Scout Movement took place in London, UK, on 17 May 2009. Previously, the youngest Chief Scout had been Charles Maclean (UK), who was 43 when he took the role in 1959.
Kim Jong-un became leader of North Korea on 17 Dec 2011, following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-un’s exact age has never been officially confirmed, but it is speculated that he was 27 years old upon succeeding his father – although his date of birth has been listed as 8 Jan 1982 or the same date in 1983 or 1984.
Callum Gathercole (UK, b. 15 May 1995) was 20 years old when he began rowing the Atlantic Ocean east to west, from La Gomera to Antigua, in his boat Small and Mighty. The row lasted 58 days 15 hr 15 min, from 20 Dec 2015 to 16 Feb 2016. In keeping with the rules of the Ocean Rowing Society, GWR dates ocean rowing records from the holder’s age at departure.
As of 16 Mar 2016, Norway’s Alexandra Andresen (b. 23 Jul 1996) was aged 19 years old and had an estimated wealth of $1,180,000,000 (£829,800,000; €1,062,620,000) according to Forbes. She competes in dressage professionally. Her family’s fortune comes from the tobacco industry.
Brian Canter (USA, b. 25 Jun 1987) was 18 years old when he appeared in the 2005 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals. He finished in the top 50 that year, and was eighth in the rankings for 2006.
Andrew Bynum (USA, b. 27 Oct 1987) became the youngest individual to play in an NBA game when he featured for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Denver Nuggets (both USA) on 2 Nov 2005.
Max Verstappen (NLD, b. 30 Sep 1997) was 17 years old when he finished in seventh place in the Malaysian Grand Prix on 29 Mar 2015.
On 10 Oct 2014, Malala Yousafzai (PAK, b. 12 Jul 1997) was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
Marjorie Gestring (USA, b. 18 Nov 1922) took the springboard diving title aged 13 years at the Olympic Games in Berlin on 12 Aug 1936. On 13 Aug 1932, aged 14 years 309 days, Kusuo Kitamura (JPN, b. 9 Oct 1917) won the 1,500 m freestyle swimming event at the Summer Olympic Games, making him the youngest individual Olympic gold medallist (male).
“Little” Stevie Wonder (USA, b. 13 May 1950) was just 13 years old when Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius (1963) topped the US chart.
Mita Klima (AUT, b. 1893) was reputedly 13 years old when she competed in the 1907 singles competition.
Jagger Eaton (USA, b. 21 Feb 2001) was 11 years old when he debuted at X Games 18, staged from 28 Jun to 1 Jul 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He competed in the Skateboard Big Air event, finishing 12th.
Aged just 9 years old, Samuel Keplinger (DEU, b. 27 Apr 1998) officiated during a 0–0 draw between SSV Bobingen and SV Reinhartshausen in Bobingen, Bavaria, Germany, on 24 Feb 2008. The game was part of a tournament for U7 boys’ teams.
The youngest pirate for whom there is documentary proof is John King. On 9 Nov 1716, the notorious pirate “Black Sam”, aka Samuel Bellamy (UK), captured a passenger ship, the Bonetta. King (then aged between eight and 11 years old) and his mother were both passengers. According to a statement by Abijah Savage (the captain of the Bonetta) dated 30 Nov 1716, King insisted on joining the pirate crew, threatening to kill himself or hurt his mother if his wish was not granted. Eventually “Black Sam” allowed him to do so.
Saugat Bista (NPL, b. 6 Jan 2007) is the youngest director of a professionally made film. He was 7 years old when Love You Baba (NPL, 2014) was released in cinemas on 12 Dec 2014.
“Little Miss Miracle” Shirley Temple (USA, b. 23 Apr 1928) won a special Juvenile Award “in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934” on 27 Feb 1935, aged 6 years.
Four-year-old Julian Pavone (USA, b. 14 May 2004) performed in his 20th concert (the minimum count that GWR guidelines stipulate for this record) on 29 Mar 2009.
On 26 Dec 2005, aged three years old, Cranston Chipperfield (UK) became the youngest person to take the stage as master of ceremonies, at the Circus Royale in Strathclyde Country Park in Lanarkshire, UK. He is the eighth generation of ringmasters in the Chipperfield family.
On 10 Apr 1912, Millvina Dean (UK, b. 2 Feb 1912), her parents and 18-month-old brother set off on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic cruise liner. They were travelling third class. Millvina, along with her mother and brother, survived when the “unsinkable” ship hit an iceberg on 14 Apr 1912 and began to sink. Her father, Bert, was among the 1,517 passengers who perished.
On 8 Nov 1996, one-hour-old Cheyenne Pyle (USA) became the youngest ever patient to undergo a transplant when she received a donor heart at Jackson Children’s Hospital in Miami, Florida, USA.
Tucker Roussin (USA, b. 9 May 2013) had open-heart surgery while still in the womb, at just 24 weeks’ gestation. The operation took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, in Feb 2013.
