--- description: As the oldest man in the world celebrates his 113th birthday, here's a look at the other history made the year he was born title: World's Oldest Man Israel Kristal Celebrates Birthday image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b283144cf31af26/6988a5c7656a3fe7cfbcd12c/wright-brothers-1903.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The World's Oldest Man Was Born 113 Years Ago. Here's What Else Happened Then ## Video: The March on Washington: The Movement Begins [Watch (HLS stream): The March on Washington: The Movement Begins](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eYWENlb4.m3u8) (6:26)  _Published 2014-04-07. The March on Washington was a peaceful demonstration for racial equality. But it would not have happened without the beatings, arrests and violent struggle for civil rights that had already engulfed the Deep South._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:53 AM CUTPublished: Sep 15, 2016 12:30 PM CUT  Library of Congress  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:53 AM CUTPublished: Sep 15, 2016 12:30 PM CUT Thursday marks the 113th birthday of the world’s oldest man, Israel Kristal, whose claim to fame has been verified by the [Guinness World Records](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/3/guinness-world-records-announces-holocaust-survivor-israel-kristal-as-worlds-old "undefined"), Gerontology Research Group, and the Jewish Records Indexing in Poland. Kristal was born Izrael Icek Krysztal on Sept. 15, 1903, in a Russian-occupied Polish village. According to the[ Gerontology Research Group](http://www.grg.org/GRGNews2016.html "undefined"), when the Nazis invaded Poland, Kristal—who ran a candy shop in Lodz with his father—had to move to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto with his family. Four years later, he was sent to Auschwitz, and labored at several other camps before being liberated in May of 1945\. His wife Chaja Fajga Frucht and their two children did not survive the Holocaust. He later remarried, had a son and relocated to Haifa, Israel, where he has lived since 1950. On the occasion of Kristal’s 113th birthday, TIME looks backs at the history made the year he was born. _January 19:_ **_The first transatlantic wireless message from the United States was sent_** President Theodore Roosevelt exchanged [“cordial greetings”](https://books.google.com/books?id=wfSABTyeiV4C&pg=PA53&lpg=PA53&dq=January+19,+1903,+roosevelt+king+edward&source=bl&ots=oJoU4Rw-xk&sig=25k72iQ97RvIGRcjJ6XfNIzjtIY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjz-5a6-%5F3OAhVG2SYKHai3Be8Q6AEIRzAJ#v=onepage&q=January%2019%2C%201903%2C%20roosevelt%20king%20edward&f=false "undefined") with King Edward VII in London through a station built on Cape Cod by wireless telegraph inventor and radio innovator [Guglielmo Marconi](https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/marconi.html "undefined"). _March 14:_ **_The first wildlife refuge in the U.S. was established_** President Roosevelt designated Pelican Island off the Atlantic Coast of Florida as the first federal bird reservation, safeguarding brown pelicans from plume hunting and giving birth to the National Wildlife Refuge System. _July 1-18:_ **_The first Tour de France took place_** The champion, Frenchman Maurice Garin, set a record for [the race](http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/us/TDF/1903/histoire.html "undefined")‘s largest margin when the second-place cyclist rode in 2 hours and 49 minutes later. _July 23:_ **_The f_** **_irst Ford was sold_** The Ford Motor Company was incorporated, and orders for the Ford Model A revved up. _Summer:_ **_Jack London’s_** **Call of the Wild** **_was published_** First serialized in the _Saturday Evening Post,_ Jack London’s classic novel told the adventures of a sled dog named Buck during the 1890s gold rush in the Alaskan Yukon. _October:_ **_The first World Series in Major League Baseball was held_** The [Boston team](http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/postseason/mlb%5Fws%5Frecaps.jsp?feature=1903 "undefined") (now known as the Red Sox) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 after their owners agreed to a “best of nine” series. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter "undefined") _November 6:_ **_The U_** **_.S. recognized Panama’s independence from Colombia_** The U.S. established [diplomatic relations](https://history.state.gov/countries/panama "undefined") with Panama after aiding the revolt, which led to the construction of the Panama Canal, a [more affordable and quicker](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/panama-canal "undefined") shipping route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The dealings would be one of President Roosevelt’s most significant and controversial foreign policy initiatives. _December 10:_ **_Pierre and Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel won the Nobel Prize in Physics_** After Henri Becquerel discovered the radioactivity of [uranium](https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200803/physicshistory.cfm "undefined") in 1896, Marie and Pierre Curie [discovered](http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel%5Fprizes/physics/laureates/1903/marie-curie-facts.html "undefined") even more radioactive elements polonium and radium. _December 17:_ **_The first successful airplane flight took off_** The Wright Brothers Wilbur and Orville were airborne for 12 seconds and 120 feet over Kill Devil Hills, N.C. In a telegram to their father, they wrote that their “flyer” had four successful flights, the [longest ](https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/thefirstflight.htm "undefined")being 59 seconds and 852 feet in distance. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4481960/worlds-oldest-man-history-birth-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4481960/worlds-oldest-man-history-birth-year/"},"headline":"The World's Oldest Man Was Born 113 Years Ago. 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