Portrait of Claude Choules

Birthday profile

Claude Choules

British combat, last living First World War veteran in the world

Born
March 3, 1901
Died
May 5, 2011
Zodiac sign
Pisces
Birth year
1901

About Claude Choules

Claude Stanley Choules was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War. He served with the Royal Navy from 1915 until 1926. After having emigrated to Australia he served with the Royal Australian Navy, from 1926 until 1956, as a chief petty officer and was a naturalised Australian citizen. He was the last surviving military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919 and the last surviving veteran to have served in both world wars. At the time of his death, he was the third-oldest verified military veteran in the world and the oldest known living man in Australia. He was the seventh-oldest living man in the world. Choules became the oldest man born in the United Kingdom following the death of Stanley Lucas on 21 June 2010. Choules died at the age of 110 years and 63 days. He had been the oldest British-born man; following his death, that honour went to the Reverend Reginald Dean. In December 2011, the landing ship HMAS Choules was named after him, only the second Royal Australian Navy vessel named after a sailor. Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War.

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

Claude Choules timeline

  1. Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War.
  2. Choules became the oldest man born in the United Kingdom following the death of Stanley Lucas on 21 June 2010.
  3. In December 2011, the landing ship HMAS Choules was named after him, only the second Royal Australian Navy vessel named after a sailor.

The world when Claude Choules was born

Claude Choules was born in 1901. 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.

Culture in 1901

  • Best-selling book"The Crisis" – Winston Churchill

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst American League season
  • Top headlinePresident McKinley assassinated — Roosevelt becomes president
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic radio signal by Marconi
  • World population~1.61B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderWilliam McKinley / Theodore Roosevelt
  • U.S. population77.6M

1901 versus 2026

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

Measure19012026
Population77.6M341 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, VIAF. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.