The oldest living man in the United States is an immigrant who resides in Linden, NJ

The oldest man in the United States lives on a quiet street in an old industrial suburb, a stone’s throw from the constant hum of the New Jersey Turnpike.

He is 111 years old. He recites poetry from memory. And he suggests, with a glint of certainty, that his aim with a rifle remains true.

Luis Cano, born in the Colombian countryside in 1914, was formally recognized this weekend as the oldest known living American man by the global research organization LongeviQuest.

The certification, finalized in December, places him 12th among the world’s oldest men. In a nation obsessed with youth and its preservation, Mr. Cano represents a different, quieter conquest: the accumulation of years, witnessed and endured.

The recognition ceremony at his home was a modest affair, punctuated by the sprawl of his extended family.

Ten children, generations of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, now scattered from Queens to Spain, form the human lattice of his longevity.

Linden Mayor Derek Armstead presented a city proclamation. Neighbors waved from the sidewalk. Mr. Cano held court.

“Linden is home to one of the oldest men in the world, and the United States,” said Armstead. “My wife, Danie, and I had the honor of spending time with a true living treasure, Mr. Luis Cano, as he celebrates an extraordinary milestone: his 111th birthday.”

“Mr. Cano has witnessed more than a century of history, change, and progress,” said Armstead. “His life is a reminder of resilience, faith, and the blessings of longevity. Moments like these inspire me every day to go above and beyond for the people of this great city, because Linden isn’t just where we live, it’s our home, our family, and our legacy.”

The Colombian-born supercentenarian, who has been the oldest known living man in the United States since the death of Eugene Baltes on 29 December 2024, spoke of his service in the Colombian Army beginning in 1937, of marksmanship awards won long ago.

“I could still shoot well,” he stated, the assertion hanging in the air, a challenge to time itself. Later, he built a transportation business, driving buses into remote villages, connecting the unconnected.

In 1990, at an age when most contemplate retirement, he and his wife, Alicia, began anew in the United States.

His recipe for an 11-decade life is neither a secret nor a patented regimen. He ate vegetables, beans, chili peppers, and avocados. He never smoked, never drank.

He worked in his garden until he was 106. It is a testament to consistency, to a body not flooded with modern excess. In an era of algorithmic life-hacks and billion-dollar biotech ventures, the leading American man credits beans and digging in the dirt.

“Mr. Cano’s longevity reflects both lifelong physical vigor and the deep support of his family,” said LongeviQuest CEO Ben Meyers. “It is a privilege to meet supercentenarians who are not only long-lived, but clearly happy and cherished.”

Yet this celebration of an individual milestone casts a faint, unflattering light on a national condition. M

Cano, an immigrant who found his way here in his eighth decade, now leads the American men in durability.

The current oldest American woman, 115-year-old Naomi Whitehead of Pennsylvania, was born in 1910. She has outlived her husband and her three sons.

The gulf between their experiences is as deep as the four years that separate their births.

We venerate these individuals as marvels, and rightly so.

But we must also ask what we are marveling at. Is it simply the number? Or is it the enduring human spirit that persists despite a culture often hostile to age, to slowness, to the kind of simple, unprofitable habits that sustained Mr. Cano?

He sits by his window now, watching the community he joined late. The nation he leads, in this one particular demographic, races past him, perhaps without learning the lesson he embodies.

LongeviQuest is a global organization that validates and documents the world’s longest-lived people. Mr. Cano’s biography and validation report are published on the company’s website.

The oldest known living person in the United States remains Naomi Whitehead, 115, of Greenville, Pennsylvania.