Thomas Parr (1483? – 14 November 1635) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
man who supposedly lived for 152 years. He is often referred to simply as
Old Parr or
Old Tom Parr.
Parr was said to have been born in 1483 near
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, possibly at
WollastonWollaston is a small village in Shropshire, England, only a quarter of a mile from the Welsh border.It also was a civil parish, until 2005 when it was abolished and absorbed into the two neighbouring parishes - Alberbury with Cardeston and Westbury....
. He supposedly joined the army around 1500 and did not marry until he was 80 years old. He had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Parr attributed his
long lifeThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, this is not the most popular or accepted definition...
to his
vegetarianVegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. Vegetarians do not eat meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, or products of animal slaughter such as...
diet and moral temperance, although when he was about 100 years old he purportedly had an affair and fathered a child born out of wedlock.
Thomas Parr (1483? – 14 November 1635) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
man who supposedly lived for 152 years. He is often referred to simply as
Old Parr or
Old Tom Parr.
Biography
Parr was said to have been born in 1483 near
ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is home to 70,689 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, possibly at
WollastonWollaston is a small village in Shropshire, England, only a quarter of a mile from the Welsh border.It also was a civil parish, until 2005 when it was abolished and absorbed into the two neighbouring parishes - Alberbury with Cardeston and Westbury....
. He supposedly joined the army around 1500 and did not marry until he was 80 years old. He had two children, both of whom died in infancy. Parr attributed his
long lifeThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, this is not the most popular or accepted definition...
to his
vegetarianVegetarianism is the practice of following a diet based on plant-based foods including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. Vegetarians do not eat meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, or products of animal slaughter such as...
diet and moral temperance, although when he was about 100 years old he purportedly had an affair and fathered a child born out of wedlock. After the death of his first wife, he married a second time at the alleged age of 122.
As news of his purported age spread, 'Old Parr' became a national celebrity and was painted by
RubensSir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
and
Van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English...
. In 1635,
Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of ArundelThomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, 4th Earl of Surrey and 1st Earl of Norfolk was a prominent English courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politician...
, visited Parr and brought him to
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to meet
Charles ICharles I, , the second son of James VI of Scotland and I of England, was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Charles famously engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England...
. Charles asked what Parr had done that was greater than any other man, and the latter replied that he had performed
penancePenance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in the Lutheran Divine Service...
(for his affair) at the age of 100.
Parr was treated as a spectacle in London, but the change in food and environment apparently led to his death. The king arranged for him to be buried in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
on November 15, 1635. The inscription of his gravestone reads:
Doubts of his age
William HarveyWilliam Harvey was an English physician who was the first to describe correctly and in exact detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped around the body by the heart.- Early years:...
(1578-1657), the
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who discovered the circulation of the blood, performed a
post-mortemAn autopsy–also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction–is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
on Parr's body. The results were published in the book
De ortu et natura sanguinis by John Betts as an attachment. According to P. Lüth the results of the autopsy suggest that Thomas Parr was probably under 70 years of age.
It is possible that Parr's records were confused with those of his grandfather. Parr did not claim to remember specific events from the 15th century.
Cultural references
- John Taylor
John Taylor was an English poet who dubbed himself "The Water Poet".-Biography:He was born in Gloucester ....
wrote about Parr in his 1635 poem The Old, Old, Very Old Man or the Age and Long Life of Thomas Parr.
- A portrait of Parr hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
- His story was featured on the TV show Beyond Belief!! on the American network Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is an American cable television channel owned by Viacom. Since the mid-1990s and early 2000s Nickelodoen as a brand has expanded into other territories including Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Asia.It is often referred to by its shortened name, Nick, a practice that dates back to...
in 1992.
- The Scotch whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
brand Old Parr is named for him and recounts his claimed birth and death years on its label.
- Parr has been used as an example of the supposed health benefits of some natural medicines, including herbal colon cleansers.
- In the 1979 film "The Champ
The Champ is a 1979 remake of the 1931 Academy Award-winning film of the same name which was directed by King Vidor.The remake was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, based on a story by Frances Marion and screenwriting by Walter Newman....
", a small statue of Parr instigates a conversation between the boy and his stepfather.
- Parr's old age is mentioned in the book "Walden
Walden by Henry David Thoreau is an American classic. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, and manual for self reliance....
", by Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
.
- Parr is named in "Time Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot summary:...
" by Robert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of the genre. He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's...
.
- Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.-Early life:He...
makes a reference to Thomas Parr in DraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel,...
.
- Old Parr is mentioned in Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
' "Dombey and SonDombey and Son is a novel by the Victorian author Charles Dickens. It was first published in monthly parts between October 1846 and April 1848 with the full title Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation...
", chapter XLI.
- Old Parr is mentioned in Robert Graves
Graves considered himself a poet first and foremost. His poems, together with his translations and innovative interpretations of the Greek Myths, his memoir of the First World war, Good-bye to All That, and his historical study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess, have never been out of...
's poem "A Country Mansion".