Jeanetta Thomas

Jeanetta Jane Thomas (2 December 1869 – 5 January 1982) of Llantrisant, Wales was a British supercentenarian and was mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records in the 1980s. Thomas spent her youth in London working as a seamstress. At the age of around 40, she returned to Wales to open a drapery shop, which she ran until the age of 98. Thomas was the last surviving person in the UK to have been born in the 1860s. She was also the oldest living person in the United Kingdom from 20 October 1980 until her death, at the age of 112 years and 34 days. She was the last surviving person in Britain to be born in the 1860s. From the age of 107, Thomas resided at a nursing home at Cowbridge, Wales. A photograph of her, which was taken the day before her 112th birthday, appeared in The Times. Had Thomas lived another six days, she would have broken the British longevity record which at that time was held by Alice Stevenson. Thomas still holds the record for the oldest Welsh-born woman ever, although Welshman John Evans and English-born Anna Eliza Williams (who died in Wales) both lived longer.