THOMAS PARR

'Thomas Parr' was an English man who supposedly lived for 152 years, often referred to simply as 'Old Parr', or 'Old Tom Parr'.

Contents

Biography

Theories

Cultural references

External links

Biography

He was said to have been born in 1483 near Shrewsbury, possibly at Wollaston, and joined the army around 1500. He did not marry until he was 80 years old and had two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom died in infancy. He attributed his long life to his vegetarian diet and moral temperance, although when he was around 100 years old he had an affair and an illegitimate child. After the death of his first wife, he married again at the age of 122.
As news of his age spread, 'Old Parr' became a national celebrity and was painted by Rubens and Van Dyke. In 1635 Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, visited Parr and brought him to London to meet Charles I. Charles asked what Parr had done that was greater than any other man, and Parr replied that he performed penance (for his affair) at the age of 100.
In London he was treated as a spectacle, but the change in food and environment apparently caused his death. Charles I arranged for him to be buried in Westminster Abbey on November 15, 1635. The inscription of his gravestone reads:

''THO: PARR OF YE COUNTY OF SALLOP. BORNE

IN AD: 1483. HE LIVED IN YE REIGNES OF TEN

PRINCES VIZ: K.ED.4. K.ED.5.K.RICH.3.

K.HEN.7.K.HEN.8.K.EDW.6.Q.MA.Q.ELIZ

K.JA. & K. CHARLES. AGED 152 YEARES.

& WAS BURYED HERE NOVEMB. 15. 1635.''

William Harvey, the physician who discovered the circulation of the blood, performed an autopsy on Parr's body.

Theories

It is likely that his records were confused with those of his grandfather. He did not claim to remember specific events from the 15th century. However he was blind and feeble when the Earl of Arundel met him, so it seems that he was very old, possibly a centenarian.

Cultural references

The poet John Taylor 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.
His story was featured on the TV show Beyond Belief!! on the American network Nickelodeon in 1992.
The Scotch whisky brand ''Old Parr'' is named after him and recounts his claimed birth and death years on its label.
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Another 'Thomas Parr' was the father of Catherine Parr, a wife of Henry VIII.

External links

★ Information from Westminster Abbey on Parr's life, including the inscription on his gravestone

★ The Life and Times of Thomas Parr