Parapsychologist Alexander Imich last week became the world’s oldest living man (sadly, upon the passing of the previous holder of the title, Arturo Licata). Born in Poland 111 years ago, Imich fought the Bolsheviks in 1918 as a 15-year-old schoolboy, earned a PhD in zoology before then pursuing chemistry as a profession, studied mediums as a psychical researcher in the 1920s and 1930s, was detained in a Soviet labour camp during World War II after fleeing the Nazis, and upon his release (and finding out much of his family had been killed by the Nazi regime) moved to the U.S. in 1952.
Imich has written several journal papers on parapsychological topics and also edited the book Incredible Tales of the Paranormal, published in 1995 (back when he was a youthful 92 years old).
Imich has sadly recently been struggling both with his health, after a fall earlier this year, and also financially (not helped by his lack of close family). He currently lives alone in New York, although as that linked news story reports, he has been befriended by local Jewish people who have made a great effort to help him back on his feet, both literally and metaphorically.
On a sidenote: it’s worth pointing out that while Imich now holds the title of world’s oldest living man, he’s well down the list of the oldest living humans: number 66 actually, with women taking the top 65 spots. Which should make any female parapsychologists feel optimistic about the future at least…
(via David Luke)
