From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries

Since Dallin H. Oaks has now been formally installed as the
president of the LDS Church after Russell M. Nelson died last
month (they waited until after the funeral after the October
Conference,unlike April 1951,when the funeral of the just-
deceased president George Albert Smith was integrated into
the Conference...all other Church Presidents have taken care
not to die just before either of the conferences held each
year at the start of those months),it's time to update my
"older than the..." file for posting...those born between
September 9,1924 and August 21,1927 are restored to,and those
born from then until August 12,1932 are granted for the first
time,status as "older than the president of the LDS Church".

-=-=-=-=-
What with the recent discussion of last-surviving-veterans and tontines,
I thought I'd compile this little reference...

In his volumes of autobiography,Isaac Asimov,in contemplation of
when he first realized he was older than his editor,wrote that if he
lived long enough he would become "older than the President of the United States;older than the Pope..." (as he put it in IN JOY STILL FELT),
and then in I.ASIMOV,years later,that he WAS then older than the President
of the USA and than the Pope,looking back on the same incident.

Obviously the class of people "older than the XXX" grows whenever someone younger becomes XXX,and then dwindles as long as that person remains XXX.

For the various XXXes on this list,I am leaving out the president of
the USA,as the office changes hands too frequently,and too often
goes to someone older(both Harrisons,Taylor,Buchanan,both Johnsons, Arthur,Taft,Wilson,Reagan,GW Bush[barely],Trump[1st],Biden).Likewise I don't include frequently-changing, hard-to-track things like oldest living Cardinal or British peer or member of Congress,though I have tracked these at times(mainly recent periods).
I include:

the Pope...office has not gone to someone older in centuries.
the Chief Justice of the United States...dependably passes to
younger hands,incumbents have been older than Presidents in the
period I cover except 1946-53(Truman older than Vinson),1953-61
(Eisenhower older than Warren) 1986-93(Reagan,by years,and
Bush,by months,older than Rehnquist),and from the appointment
of the anomalously young Roberts to the inauguration of Obama.
The president of the LDS (Mormon) Church...dependably held by someone
old,once the founders had gotten old,thanks to strict succession
by seniority.
the British monarch...age can vary,but they stay for life and
successors are always younger....only one has ever lived to be 82.
the matriarch of the British royal family...just taking advantage
of the fact that Victoria got rather old and her successors have
usually not been orphans.

I begin arbitrarily with the election of Pope Pius IX.
Periods of vacancy in vacatable offices are ignored.

1846...Chief Justice,Roger B. Taney(born 1777)
British matriarch,Victoire Duchess of Kent(1786)
[or,Queen Adelaide until 1849?]
Pope,Pius IX(1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
British monarch,Victoria(1819)

1861...Chief Justice,Roger B. Taney(born 1777)
Pope,Pius IX(1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1864...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
Chief Justice,Salmon P. Chase(1808)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1874...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,Brigham Young(1801)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

Chase actually died in 1873,it took a while to appoint Waite.

1877...Pope,Pius IX(born 1792)
LDS president,John Taylor(1808)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

Taylor led the LDS in an interim title until 1880,but being most senior
leader is automatic.

1878...LDS president,John Taylor(born 1808)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

1887...LDS president,Wilford Woodruff(born 1807)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
Chief Justice,Morrison R. Waite(1816)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)

The first of only three LDS successions to an OLDER man,this shows the establishment of gerontocracy there,and since the beginning of the
period under survey Victoria has remained the youngest on the list...
it has become entirely old people,those older than any of them,
let alone those older than all of them,have dwindled to a select few. (Victoria's age of 68 at this point was much older relative to
expectancy that that age would be now).

1888...LDS president,Wilford Woodruff(born 1807)
Pope,Leo XIII(1810)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)

1898...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
LDS president,Lorenzo Snow(born 1814)
British monarch/matriarch,Victoria(1819)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)

Woodruff died at 91,his living seniors few indeed and probably hardly any remaining in positions of influence.

Jan 1901...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
LDS president,Lorenzo Snow(1814)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

Oct 1901...Pope,Leo XIII(born 1810)
Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(1833)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

Two quick successions made the "older than the..." crowd much larger for
the moment.The oldest reliably recorded Pope ever had two more years...

1903...Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(born 1833)
Pope,St. Pius X(1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British monarch,Edward VII(1841)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)

At last all were in a narrow,not extremely old but well on,band...and
their seniors shrank quietly for seven years...

May 1910...Chief Justice,Melville Weston Fuller(born 1833)
Pope,St. Pius X(1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Dec 1910...Pope,St. Pius X(born 1835)
LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Fuller had actually died in July.

1914...LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Sr.(born 1838)
British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
British monarch,George V(1865)


1918...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
Chief Justice,Edward D. White(1845)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
British monarch,George V(1865)

Grant was the last man near so young to take the LDS leadership.

1921...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
Pope,Benedict XV(1854)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)

1922...British matriarch,Queen Alexandra (born 1844)
LDS president,Heber J. Grant(1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(Sept 1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)

1925...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,William Howard Taft(Sept 1857)
British monarch,George V(1865)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)

The very last time a mere 70-year-old could claim to be older than the occupants of all of these positions...the LDS leader,after 7 years,returns
to the top.

1930...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British monarch,George V(1865)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)

Jan 1936...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)
British monarch,Edward VIII(1894)

Dec 1936...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Pope,Pius XI(May 1857)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

1939...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
Chief Justice,Charles Evans Hughes(1862)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

1941...LDS president,Heber J. Grant(born 1856)
British matriarch,Queen Mary (1867)
Chief Justice,Harlan Fiske Stone(1872)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

1945...British matriarch,Queen Mary (born 1867)
LDS president,George Albert Smith(1870)
Chief Justice,Harlan Fiske Stone(1872)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

1946...British matriarch,Queen Mary (born 1867)
LDS president,George Albert Smith(1870)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
Chief Justice,Frederick M. Vinson(1890)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

(Hughes lived until 1948,surviving being Chief Justice by an unusual
length of time).

1951...British matriarch,Queen Mary (born 1867)
LDS president,David O. McKay(1873)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
Chief Justice,Frederick M. Vinson(1890)
British monarch,George VI(1895)

1952...British matriarch,Queen Mary (born 1867)
LDS president,David O. McKay(1873)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
Chief Justice,Frederick M. Vinson(1890)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

The youngest succession to any of these posts we are likely to see...
of course,most people in positions of influence were older than the
Queen then,but times have certainly changed.

March 1953...LDS president,David O. McKay(born 1873)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
Chief Justice,Frederick M. Vinson(1890)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Oct 1953...LDS president,David O. McKay(born 1873)
Pope,Pius XII(1876)
Chief Justice,Earl Warren(1891)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1958...LDS president,David O. McKay(born 1873)
Pope,John XXIII(1881)
Chief Justice,Earl Warren(1891)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1963...LDS president,David O. McKay(born 1873)
Chief Justice,Earl Warren(1891)
Pope,Paul VI(1897)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1969...LDS president,David O. McKay(born 1873)
Pope,Paul VI(1897)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1970...LDS president,Joseph Fielding Smith Jr.(born 1876)
Pope,Paul VI(1897)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Succession between people a generation older than the rest of the list,
an apogee of LDS gerontocracy.

1972...Pope,Paul VI(born 1897)
LDS president,Harold B. Lee(born 1899)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1973...LDS president,Spencer W. Kimball(born 1895)
Pope,Paul VI(1897)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Succession by the youngest LDS president in generations followed by
a rare succession by an older man...those born 1895-99 would wait
another dozen years to become older than the LDS prophet again,
at a time when most were already dead or retired.Kimball was EXACTLY
four years older than Lee.

Sept 1978...LDS president,Spencer W. Kimball(born 1895)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
Pope,John Paul I(1912)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Oct 1978...LDS president,Spencer W. Kimball(born 1895)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

The Year of Three Popes.

1985...LDS president,Ezra Taft Benson(born 1899)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Chief Justice,Warren Burger(1907)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Back to an LDS leader succeeding already on top of the list.

1986...LDS president,Ezra Taft Benson(born 1899)
British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
Chief Justice,William H. Rehnquist(1924)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

1994...British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (born 1900)
LDS president,Howard W. Hunter (1907)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
Chief Justice,William H. Rehnquist(1924)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Benson was EXACTLY one year older than the Queen Mother,who
lived over seven and a half years after his death.

1995...British matriarch,Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (1900)
LDS president,Gordon B. Hinckley (1910)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
Chief Justice,William H. Rehnquist(1924)
British monarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

2002...LDS president,Gordon B. Hinckley (1910)
Pope,John Paul II(1920)
Chief Justice,William H. Rehnquist(1924)
British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)

Apr 2005...LDS president,Gordon B. Hinckley (1910)
Chief Justice,William H. Rehnquist(1924)
British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)
Pope,Benedict XVI(1927)

The Queen's fifty-three years as the youngest person on the list
are over.

Sept 2005...LDS president,Gordon B. Hinckley (1910)
British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)
Pope,Benedict XVI(1927)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (1955)

The youngest Chief Justice in centuries lowers the floor age of
the list to its lowest point in almost thirty years.

2008...British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)
Pope,Benedict XVI(April 1927)
LDS president,Thomas S. Monson (August 1927)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (1955)

The Queen has gone from bottom to top in six years.

2013...British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)
LDS president,Thomas S. Monson (1927)
Pope,Francis I(1936)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (1955)

2018...LDS president,Russell M. Nelson(1924)
British monarch/matriarch,Elizabeth II(1926)
Pope,Francis I(1936)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (1955)

LDS succession moves the Queen back into second place...and some
nonagenarians get moved out of the "older than" category.

2022...LDS president,Russell M. Nelson(1924)
Pope,Francis I(1936)
British monarch,Charles III(1948)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (1955)

Nelson survives the Queen.
If Camilla counts as "matriarch" she was born 1947.

May 2025...LDS president,Russell M. Nelson(1924)
British monarch,Charles III(1948)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (Jan 1955)
Pope,Leo XIV(Sept 1955)

The election of one of the younger Cardinals as Pope
lowers the floor of the list by less than eight months.

Sept 2025...LDS president,Dallin H. Oaks(1932)
British monarch,Charles III(1948)
Chief Justice,John G. Roberts (Jan 1955)
Pope,Leo XIV(Sept 1955)

The death of the oldest LDS president ever lowers the top
but the new one is still years older than the others listed.

The death of Oaks will not lower the floor or even the top
of the list (the first 3 men in line are years older than King Charles,
and 11 of the 13 men in succession are older than Pope Leo).
Right now you have to be more than 2 months past 93 years
old to be older than the whole list,and if younger than 5 weeks
past seventy are younger than them all.

Meanwhile the older-thans die every day.

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.
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