World's Oldest Man Dies at the Age of 114

PUBLIC MEDIA -- April 15, 2011 at 9:40 AM EDT

World's Oldest Man Dies at the Age of 114

Walter Breuning, who for nearly two years was hailed as the world's oldest man, died of natural causes in his home in Great Falls, Mont. on Thursday. He was 114.

In 2009, Montana PBS correspondent William Marcus interviewed the Montana resident when he was 112 years old. He recalled the banks closing in 1929, the Great Depression, and his favorite president: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

An excerpt from that conversation aired on the PBS NewsHour in February 2009:

Watch the full interview from Montana PBS here.

Breuning was born on September 21, 1896 in Melrose, Minn. and spent much of his early life in South Dakota before working for 50 years on the Great Northern Railway. Breuning retired when he was 66 and lived in the Rainbow Senior Living retirement home in Great Falls, Mont. since 1980.

Editor's note: Earlier versions of this story stated the wrong birth year and stated that Breuning was a Montana native. He was not. He was born in Minnesota.

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