The World's Oldest Man Dies at 111

Record-holder Alexander Imich passes away

The world's oldest man has passed away.

Alexander Imich, a 111-year-old Polish psychic researcher, died Sunday morning at a senior residence in New York City. He received the title after the previous record-holder—Italy's Arturo Licata—died almost two months ago on April 24 at 111 years and 357 days. According to his longtime friend Michael Mannion, Imich chose to offer his body to Mount Sinai Medical Center for study.

In an interview with The New York Times, the deceased made light of his old age, saying, "Not like it's the Nobel Prize. I never thought I'd be that old."

Imich was born on Feb. 4, 1903, and fled Poland with his wife when the Nazis invaded. He survived a slave labor camp in Russia and moved to the United States in 1951.

Imich credits his long life to the fact that he never had children and he exercised regularly, ate moderately and never drank alcohol. "I was a gymnast," he said. "Good runner, a good springer. Good javelin, and I was a good swimmer."

The former researcher also shared his positive outlook on death: "The compensation for dying is that I will learn all the things I was not able to learn here on Earth."