Margaret Ann Neve

Margaret Ann Neve (18 May 1792 – 4 April 1903) of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, English Channel was the first recorded female supercentenarian, and the first known supercentenarian of either sex in the 20th century. Neve was the only supercentenarian born in the 18th century who lived to the 20th century and she was the first supercentenarian to live in three different centuries. She was the only supercentenarian to live in the whole 19th century.

Biography
As a child, Neve survived a fall down the stairs, which left her concussed for three days. Neve could remember the turmoil that the French Revolution brought to Guernsey. In 1807, Neve set sail for Weymouth with her father, but a storm caused the ship to land at Chesil Beach. She was educated in Bristol, England, gaining an interest in literature and poetry. Neve met with Charles François Dumouriez, a general of the French Revolutionary Wars, who dubbed her la spirituelle. She married John Neve in 1823 in England, but returned to Guernsey in 1849 after his death.