Celebrity Info
He was once hailed as the Eighth Wonder of the World—a title he earned while captivating audiences during his time touring with circus crowds. Zaro, a man whose life story reads like legend, claimed to be one of the oldest people in human history. While there’s no denying that Zaro lived a remarkably long life, the exact length of it remains shrouded in mystery and debate. In fact, there are very few documented or verified records that confirm the details of his longevity, making it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
Zaro spent much of his early years working in construction before transitioning into roles as a porter and janitor, living quietly in what is now modern-day Turkey. For decades, he remained largely unknown, living in relative obscurity—until the 1930s, when everything changed. It’s said that someone, upon hearing Zaro’s wild and colorful tales of adventure and encounters with famous historical figures, suggested that Zaro might just hold the record for the longest-lived person ever. That idea quickly gained traction, and Zaro began to embrace the spotlight.
Capitalizing on the fascination of the era, Zaro started promoting himself internationally as the oldest man alive, especially around the turn of the century. He even toured the United States as a carnival attraction, drawing crowds eager to glimpse this so-called living relic of history. But despite the buzz, hard evidence supporting his extraordinary age claims was virtually nonexistent. As a result, many experts today regard Zaro’s story as more myth than reality—a classic example of a longevity myth.
Before fame found him, Zaro was born in a small village within the autonomous Kurdish emirate of Bitlis, part of the vast Ottoman Empire. Though details are scarce, it’s widely accepted that he did live a long life—just how long, though, continues to be disputed, even after his death. He carried with him a document he insisted was his official birth certificate, but its authenticity was never confirmed. Depending on who you ask, Zaro’s birth year is estimated to fall somewhere between 1774 and 1777.
Officially, his Turkish birth certificate declared that Zaro was a staggering 157 years old when he passed away on June 29, 1934. However, things took a dramatic turn shortly after his death—his body was swiftly transported to the United States for scientific examination. An autopsy was conducted, and the findings contradicted the age listed on the certificate. A formal report published in 1939 by researcher Walter Bowerman concluded that there was absolutely no evidence to support the claim that Zaro had lived beyond 97 years.
As for his personal life, information is both limited and inconsistent. Details about Zaro’s family remain murky, with conflicting accounts about how many wives he may have had and the number of children he fathered over the course of his long, enigmatic life. Still, one thing is certain: Zaro captured the world’s imagination, leaving behind a legacy wrapped in mystery, wonder, and just enough doubt to keep historians guessing.
He often shared some truly strange stories, and among the most unusual was his claim of having met French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III during the peak of Napoleon’s reign. He would go on to recount how, around the very same time that Napoleon suffered defeat at Sedan, he himself lost his teeth—an oddly timed coincidence, he’d say. That loss marked the beginning of the end for Napoleon, leading to his capture and eventual exile to Waterloo, where he spent his final years. It was one of those tales he told with such conviction that it was hard to tell whether he believed it himself—this man, so fond of weaving Napoleon into the fabric of his own life story. Time and again, he brought up Napoleon, as if their fates were somehow linked in that moment of downfall.
Turkey
