Woman believed to be oldest living American celebrates 114th birthday

HARLEM, N.Y. — She was born two years after the Wright Brothers took to the sky and seven years before the Titanic sank, but Alelia Murphy celebrates a milestone birthday Saturday.

Murphy, who lives in Harlem, turns 114 years old on July 6,  but the celebration started early with her being honored Friday at the Harlem State Office Building WNBC reported.

Murphy, who is now the oldest living American, was born in North Carolina in 1905. Her birthday was confirmed by the Gerontology Research Group based in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

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She raised two children on her own after her husband died, WNBC reported.

Murphy became the oldest living American when the former titleholder, Lessie Brown of Ohio, died in January at the age of 114, The Associated Press reported.

The oldest person in the world is believed to be Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman who lives on the island of Kyushu, at the age of 116, according to the Gerontology Research Group.

Cox Media Group