List of long marriages

This is a list of long marriages. It includes people who have been married for at least 80 years. The length of marriage is based on the reported death of either member, or reported divorce, or the most recent report that both members of the couple were still living.

Background

A study by Robert and Jeanette Lauer, reported in the Journal of Family Issues, conducted on 40 sets of spouses married for at least 50 years, concluded that the long-term married couples received high scores on the Lock-Wallace marital satisfaction test and were closely aligned on how their marriages were doing.[1] In a 1979 study on about 55 couples in marriages with an average length of 55.5 years, couples said their marriages lasted so long because of mutual devotion and special regard for each other.[1] Couples who have been married for a long time have a lower likelihood of divorcing because "common economic interests and friendship networks increase over time" and during stress can assist in sustaining the relationship.[2]

Another study found that people in long marriages are wedded to the idea of "marital permanency" in which "They don't see divorce as an option".[3] Sociologist Pepper Schwartz, AARP's relationships authority, said that it was helpful to have a spouse who is quick to recover when there are surprises in life.[3]

A study of 1,152 couples who had been married for over 50 years found that they attributed their long marriages to faith in each other, love, ability to make concessions, admiration for each other, reliance on each other, children, and strong communication.[4] Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research found that 7% of American marriages last at least 50 years.[3]

Recording longest marriages

The longest marriage recorded is an emerald wedding anniversary (90 years) between Karam and Kartari Chand, in the United Kingdom. Karam and Kartari Chand married in 1925 and died in 2016 and 2019 respectively.[5][6]

Guinness World Records published its first edition in 1955.[7] In the 1984 to 1998 editions, the longest recorded marriages were between Temulji Bhicaji Nariman and Lady Nariman, spanning 86 years; and Lazarus and Mary Rowe at 86 years according to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.[8][9] Guinness has since recognized couples with longer marriage spans, with the current world record holders being Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher.[10] Guinness also keeps record of the oldest married couple by aggregate age.[11]

Other organizations have created events where they honor couples with long marriages. In 2011, World Marriage Encounter (WME), an American organization that was responsible for making a World Marriage Day, created a Longest Married Couple Project (LMCP), where they pick a couple with a long marriage and honor them on Valentine's Day.[12][13] They have since expanded the awards to representatives in each of the 50 states, although the candidates selected are not necessarily the ones with record-setting marriages.[14] Starting in 2004, Louisiana Family Forum has honored its own annual list of long-time married couples in that state.[15]

List of marriages reported to be more than 80 years

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

  Spouse is deceased   Both spouses are living   Disputed or unverified

Names	Marriage date	Length of marriage	End date (person's death)	Residence (at date of last report or death)	Notes	Refs
Karam Chand Kartari Chand	11 December 1925	90 years, 291 days	30 September 2016 (Karam)	Bradford (England), United Kingdom	Not recognized by Guinness World Records[16]	[17]
K. Philipose Thomas Sosamma Thomas	17 February 1918	88 years, 2 days	19 February 2006 (Sosamma)	Kerala, India	Not recognized by Guinness World Records[18]	[19][20]
Herbert Fisher, Sr. Zelmyra (née George) Fisher	13 May 1924	86 years, 290 days	27 February 2011 (Herbert)	North Carolina, United States	Current Guinness World Record for longest marriage, recognized in 2008[10][21]	[22]
Temulji Bhicaji Nariman Lady Nariman	1853	86 years	1 August 1940 (Temulji)	Maharashtra, India	Temulji and Lady Nariman married as cousins when they were 5 years old. This was noted as longest marriage recorded through 1940. Shared Guinness World Record with Lazarus and Mary Rowe for editions up to 1998.[9]	[23][24][25]
Lazarus Rowe Mary (née Webber) Rowe	1743	86 years	27 June 1829 (Mary)	New Hampshire, United States	Shared Guinness World Record with the Narimans for editions up to 1998[9]	[26][27][28][29]
Liu Yung-Yang Liu Yang Yang-Wan	1917	86 years	21 July 2003 (Yang Yang-Wan)	Taoyuan, Taiwan	Was recognized by Guinness World Records 2004 (published in 2003) as world's longest marriage[30][31]	[32][30]
John George Betar Ann (née Shawah) Betar	25 November 1932	85 years, 291 days	12 September 2018 (John)	Connecticut, United States	Winner of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter's Longest Married Couple Project in 2013[12]	[33]
Duranord Veillard Jeanne Hermina Veillard	29 November 1932	85 years, 184 days	1 June 2018 (Duranord)	New York, United States		[34]
Maurice Kaye Helen Kaye	27 August 1934	83 years, 330 days	22 July 2018 (Maurice)	Bournemouth (England), United Kingdom		[35]
Henry Andrew Johnson Lena (née Knudsen) Johnson	8 February 1920	83 years, 231 days	27 September 2003 (Lena)	Iowa, United States		[31][36]
William B. Ritchie Claudia Lillian Ritchie	12 April 1919	83 years, 224 days	22 November 2002 (William)	Kentucky, United States	Recognized by Guinness World Records as world's oldest living married couple in 2002	[37][38][39][31]
Norman James Burmah Norma "Mickey" (née Depland) Burmah	27 January 1931	83 years, 222 days	6 September 2014 (Norma)	Louisiana, United States		[40]
Marshall N. Kuykendall Winifred Louisiana "Winnie Louise" (née Macnab) Kuykendall	14 February 1929	83 years, 221 days	22 September 2012 (Winnie)	New Mexico, United States	Winner of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter's inaugural Longest Married Couple Project in 2011[12]	[41][42]
Steven "Steve" Wrubel Victoria Virginia "Vicky" (née Puvalowski) Wrubel	28 September 1929	83 years, 192 days	8 April 2013 (Vickie)	Florida, United States	Were recognized by Guinness World Records in 2011, but did not clinch the record[42]	[43]
George L. Briant Germaine (née Thibodeaux) Briant	20 July 1921	83 years, 192 days	25 January 2005 (Germaine) 28 January 2005 (George)	Louisiana, United States	Honored by Governor David Vitter in the Louisiana Family Forum's inaugural Louisiana's longest married couple contest in 2004	[44]
Masao Matsumoto Miyako Sonoda	20 October 1937	81 years, 209 days	17 May 2019 (Masao)	Kagawa, Japan	Guinness World Record for "Oldest living married couple, aggregate age", recognized in August 2018[45] Guinness World Record for "Oldest married couple, aggregate age" (17 May 2019)[lower-alpha 1]	[45][11][46][47]
Michael Nikolaus Katharina Nikolaus	26 December 1924	80 years, 358 days	19 December 2005 (Katharina)	Siegen, Germany		[48]
Loyd Monroe Collins Evelyn Eunice (née Garlington) Collins	11 August 1934	80 years, 334 days	10 July 2015 (Evelyn)	Louisiana, United States	Recognized by the Louisiana Family Forum in 2012	[49]
Ronald Gilbert Collings Esther Elizabeth Collings	19 October 1938	80 years, 187 days	24 April 2019 (Esther)	Adelaide, Australia	Australia's oldest couple mark 80 years together[50]	[50][51][52]
Arend Noordhuis Aaltje (née Nijstad) Noordhuis	22 January 1938	82 years, 207 days		Drenthe, Netherlands		[53]
John Henderson Charlotte (née Curtis) Henderson	22 December 1939	80 years, 238 days		Texas, United States	Recognized by Guinness Word Records as the oldest living married couple.	[54]}
Warren Clinton Snell Arlene Larson	25 February 1940	80 years, 173 days		Iowa, United States		[55]
Lukas De Jong Eva Bakker	27 May 1940	80 years, 81 days		California, United States		[56]
Jon Magnusson Rita Magnusson	14 July 1940	80 years, 33 days		Hvidovre, Denmark		[57]

Notes

1. At the time of Masao Matsumoto's death, on 17 May 2019, he (born 9 July 1910) was aged 108 years, 312 days and his wife, Miyako Sonoda (born 24 November 1917), 101 years, 174 days, a combined age of 210 years, 121 days.

References

1. Lauer, Robert H.; Lauer, Jeanette C. (1 December 1986). "Factors in Long-Term Marriages". Journal of Family Issues. 7 (4): 382–390. doi:10.1177/019251386007004003.
2. Lamanna, Mary Ann; Riedmann, Agnes (2012). Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society (11 ed.). Belmont, California: Cengage. p. 410. ISBN 978-1-111-30154-5. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
3. Antoniades, Christina Breda (11 February 2016). "The secret to a long-lasting marriage". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
4. Alford-Cooper, Finnegan (1998). For Keeps: Marriages That Last a Lifetime. New York: M. E. Sharpe. p. 131. ISBN 978-1-315-29337-0. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
5. "Karam Chand, 110, believed to be longest-married dies". www.bbc.co.uk.
6. "Tributes paid to Bradford's oldest woman who died aged 107". yorkshirepost.co.uk.
7. "Celebrating 60 Years". www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
8. McWhirter, Norris (18 October 1983). Guinness Book of World Records 1984. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 9780806902562 – via Google Books.
9. Young, Mark C. (18 July 1998). The Guinness Book of World Records, 1998. Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553578959 – via Google Books.
10. "Longest marriage". Guinness World Records. 27 February 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
11. "Oldest married couple, aggregate age". Guinness World Records.
12. "2019 Worldwide Marriage Encounter's Longest Married Couple Project Accepting Nominations Beginning Valentine's Day - Feb. 14th - Standard Newswire". www.standardnewswire.com.
13. Walters, Tim (13 February 2015). "CBS News will feature local couples long marriage project". Florida Today.
14. "Longest Married Couple Project award goes to St. Pascal Baylon couple". 23 February 2017.
15. "Morgan City couples among La.'s longest married". St. Mary Now. 14 February 2019.
16. Waring, Olivia (11 December 2015). "World's oldest married couple aged 110 and 103 celebrate their 90th wedding anniversary". Metro. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
17. Articles pertaining to Karam and Kartari Chand:
    • Pantry, Lindsay (12 December 2014). "89 years of marriage for Bradford duo". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
    • Young, Chris (16 November 2015). "Surprise birthday party for Bradford couple aged 110 and 103". The Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
    • Young, Chris (10 June 2015). "Sunshine smiles on Girlington's annual parade". The Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
    • Wilde, Claire (30 September 2016). "World's longest-married man Karam Chand dies at age of 110". The Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
    • "Karam Chand, 110, believed to be longest-married dies". BBC. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
18. "Man part of the world's longest marriage passes away". Weddingstreet.
19. Jacob, George (26 June 2005). "The world's longest-married: now a claim from Kerala". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
20. "Death separates world's longest married couple". Kerala News. 21 February 2006. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
21. Hendricks, Carla Adair. "World's Longest Marriage, Guinness World Record, Longevity, Couples, H..." AARP.
22. Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher references:
    • Stritof, Sheri (14 February 2010). "Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher Marriage Profile". About.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
    • Book, Sue (28 February 2011). "Guinness World Record holder dies". Sun Journal. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
23. Temulji and Lady Nariman references:
    • Nariman, Sam D. (1941). Dr. Sir Temulji Bhicaji Nariman Kt: a short sketch of his life. Mody's Diamond Print.
    • Ackerman, Diane (1995). A natural history of love. New York City: Random House. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-679-76183-9.
    • Bhattacherje, S. B. (2008). Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates. New Delhi: Sterling Publishing. p. A204. ISBN 978-81-207-4074-7. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
24. Khilnani, N. M. (1993). Socio-political Dimensions of Modern India. New Delhi: M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-85880-06-8.
25. "People: Marriage that has lasted for 75 years". The Independent. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
26. "Obit: Lazarus Rowe 1725 - 1829." The Connecticut Courant. 29 September 1829.
27. Taylor, Robert L.; Lord, Edward S. (1991). History of Limington, Maine (2 ed.). Heritage Books. pp. 2+3.
28. Rudge, David. "Descendants of a Webber family from Bideford, Devonshire Co. England". Dave Rudge's Genealogy Page at Western Michigan University. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
29. The Columbian Star and Christian Index. W.T. Brantly. 1829. p. 224. It is presumed the United States do not contain another man and wife, who have lived so long in the conjugal state
30. Folkard, Claire (2003). Guinness World Records 2004. New York City: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-58712-8.
31. Challender, Mary (8 February 2003). "Long-wed couple: 83 years have sped by". The Des Moines Register. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
32. Liu Yung-Yang and Liu Yang Yang-Wan references:
    • "Death ends longest marriage". BBC News. 23 July 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
    • "One-half of world's longest marriage dies". United Press International. 23 July 2003. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
    • Ceilán, Cynthia (2009). Weirdly Beloved: Tales of Strange Bedfellows, Odd Couplings, and Love Gone Bad. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-59921-403-0. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
    • Gribble, Kate (2003). The Lovers' Book: More than 350 Inspired Ideas, Fun Facts and Time-tested Techniques to Make You the Best Lover Ever. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-312-53294-9. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
33. John George and Ann Betar references:
    • "Couple Celebrates 80th Wedding Anniversary, Shares Secrets to Lasting Marriage". Good Morning America Yahoo News. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2012.
    • Weizel, Richard (20 November 2013). "Connecticut couple to mark 81st wedding anniversary". Welland Tribune. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
    • Weizel, Richard (22 November 2013). "America's longest-married couple to celebrate 81st anniversary". Today. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
    • Williams, Brian (25 November 2013). "Couple celebrates 81 years of marriage". NBC Nightly News. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
    • Shah, Yagana (10 February 2016). "America's 'Longest-Married Couple' Wants To Give You Love Advice What's the secret to an everlasting romance? This couple knows". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
    • "Syrian refugee and US wife become 'long married couple in America'". The Independent. 13 February 2016.
    • Van de Riet, Emily (26 November 2017). "Couple celebrates 85 years of marriage". KMOV4. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
    • Salzo, Vincent (17 September 2018). "Obituary: John George Betar Sr., 107, of Fairfield". Patch.com. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
    D.W. and Willie Williams marriage 1937-present
    • Yen, Li (5 July 2019). "America's Longest-Wed Couple of 86 Years Dishes Out Advice on Love Before Passing Away". The Epoch Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
34. Duranord and Jeanne Veillard references:
    • Taylor, Alex (26 February 2015). "Rockland's oldest couple celebrate 212 years". The Journal News. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
    • Kindelan, Katie (27 February 2015). "New York Couple to Turn a Combined 212 Years Old". Good Morning America Yahoo News. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
    • "New York man celebrates 110th birthday with 106-year-old wife". WABC-TV. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
    • "New York man turns 111 years old". Fox 5 NY. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
    • Brum, Robert (7 June 2018). "Man thought to be Rockland's oldest resident dies at age 111". The Journal News. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
    • Eberhart, Christopher J. (14 November 2018). "Wife in Rockland's oldest married couple dies at age 108". The Journal News. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
35. Maurice and Helen Kaye references:
    • Friedland, Michael (16 August 2014). "Maurice and Helen Kaye: happily married for 80 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
    • "Maurice and Helen Kaye celebrate 80 years of marriage". BBC News. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
    • "'An inspiration' UK Jewish centenarians celebrate 83rd wedding anniversary Helen and Maurice Kaye, aged 104 and 105, are believed to be Britain's longest married couple". The Times of Israel. 1 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
    • Lemon, Jason (24 July 2018). "Britain's Longest-Married Man, Maurice Kaye, Dies at 106". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
36. "Lena Knudsen Johnson (1901-2003) - Find A Grave Memorial".
37. "83 years of marriage declared world record". Billings Gazette.
38. "Did You Know..." Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 11 May 2003. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
39. "Paris Residents Recognized as World's Oldest Married Couple". Kentucky New Era. AP. 28 August 2002. pp. A6. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
40. Norman and Norma Burmah references:
    • Johnson, Clevel (15 February 2013). "Married for 82 years, couple still going strong". Emissourian.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
    • Petrus, Jeannie (20 February 2014). "Married 83 years, Marksville couple believed to be longest-married in nation". The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette, Louisiana. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
    • "Norma Depland "Mickey" Burmah". The Town Talk. Louisiana: USA Today. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2019 – via Legacy.com.
41. Marshall and Winnie Kuykendall references:
    • Medlin, Marianne (14 February 2011). "Couple recognized for Valentine's Day wedding 82 years ago". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
    • Stevens, Bill (8 April 2013). "After 83 years, death parts longest married couple from Holiday". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
42. Stevens, Bill (28 September 2011). "For Steve and Vickie Wrubel, it's a love 82 years strong". Saint Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
43. Steve and Vicky Wrubel references:
    • Komar, Debbie (28 September 2012). "Links from the Times: Holiday couple marks 83 years of marriage today". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
    • "Love still strong between Michigan couple married for 83 years". The Oakland Press. Michigan. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
    • Stevens, Bill (1 October 2013). "Pasco man married 83 years dies at 104". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
44. George and Germaine Briant references:
    • "Couple wed 83 years die three days apart". The Advocate. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2012 – via Newsbank.
    • "Wanted: Louisiana's longest married couple". St. Charles Herald Guide. St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
45. Senda, Masakazu (8 August 2018). "Couple together for 80 years with combined age of 208 set oldest living married couple record". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
46. "Secret to Japanese couple's 80 years of marriage — wife's patience". The Japan Times. Reuters. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
47. "Family recalls husband in oldest married couple as living full life". The Asahi Shimbun. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
48. Michael and Katharina Nikolaus references:
    • "Michael Nikolaus wird 104 Jahre". inside-siegen.de. 3 January 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
    • "Ältestes Ehepaar der Welt". Siebenbürgische Zeitung. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
    • "Ältester Siebenbürger Sachse tot". Siebenbürgische Zeitung. 3 March 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
49. Grant, Tim (21 February 2012). "2012 Longest Married Hall of Fame". Louisiana Family Forum. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
50. Wilson, Roxanne (18 October 2018). "Married for 80 years: Ron and Esther's incredible love story". The Advertiser. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
51. "STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE - Collings, Mrs Esther and Mr Ronald". 18 October 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
52. "THE ADVERTISER TRIBUTES". The Advertiser. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
53. . 22 January 2020 https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/156466/82-jaar-getrouwd-en-nog-steeds-verliefd-We-kunnen-niet-zonder-elkaar. Retrieved 27 July 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
54. "Congratulations: World's oldest married couple celebrate 80th wedding anniversary". Kiro7. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
55. https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/02/13/iowa-couple-celebrate-their-80th-wedding-anniversary/4729978002/. Missing or empty |title= (help)
56. https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/16/us/oldest-living-couple-anniversary-trnd/index.html
57. "Rita og Jon har været gift i 80 år: 'Det er den store kærlighed'". 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.