Monday 28 November 2016 19.47 EST Last modified on Wednesday 30 November 2016 06.06 EST. Emma Morano, the last known person alive who was born in the 1800s, has celebrated her 117th birthday. Born on 29 November 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air, she is the world’s oldest living person. Her life has spanned three centuries, two world wars and over 90 Italian governments.