Portrait of Henry Allingham

Birthday profile

Henry Allingham

Henry Allingham, English World War I soldier and supercentenarian (died 2009)

Born
June 6, 1896
Died
July 18, 2009
Zodiac sign
Gemini
Birth year
1896

About Henry Allingham

Henry William Allingham (6 June 1896 – 18 July 2009) was an English supercentenarian. He is the longest-lived man ever recorded from the United Kingdom, a First World War veteran, and, for one month, was the verified oldest living man in the world. He is also the second-oldest military veteran ever. Allingham was the oldest-ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces, and one of the last surviving veterans of the First World War. He was the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland, the last-surviving member of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), and the last-surviving founding member of the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 2001, he became the face of the First World War veterans' association and made frequent public appearances to ensure that awareness of the sacrifices of the First World War was not lost to modern generations. He received many honours and awards for his First World War service and, towards the end of his life, his longevity. == Early life == Allingham was born on 6 June 1896 in Clapton, County of London. When he was 14 months old, his father, Henry Thomas Allingham (1868–1897), died at age 29 of tuberculosis. Henry is recorded in the 1901 census with his widowed mother Amy Jane Allingham (née Foster) (1873–1914), a laundry forewoman, living with her parents and brother at 23 Verulam Avenue, Walthamstow.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Henry Allingham was born

Henry Allingham was born in 1896. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst modern Olympic Games held in Athens
  • Top headlinePlessy v. Ferguson — "separate but equal" upheld
  • Technology milestoneGuglielmo Marconi patents wireless telegraph (radio)
  • World population~1.56B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderGrover Cleveland
  • U.S. population69.0M

1896 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Henry Allingham's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18962026
Population69.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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