Oldest Fathers in the World

10 Oldest Fathers in the World

These days people are waiting longer to start their families. In fact, the average age of first time fathers in the United States is currently 30.9 years. Additionally, twice as many dads of newborns are in the 40+ age group, compared to the 1970s. As more people delay having their first child, seeing older fathers will probably become the norm.

The fathers on this list, however, are notable for having children in their golden years. Everyone of the men on this list was already a senior citizen when their last baby was born. All of them also had wives who were significantly younger which explains how they were able to become dads again so late in their lives.

10. Raymond Calvert (1931 – Unknown)

Age When Child was Born: 78 years old in 2010
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Wife: Charlotte Calvert (25 years old in 2010)
Number of Children: 7

Raymond Calvertphoto source: growingyourbaby.com

Raymond Calvert became a father for the seventh time in 2010 when he was 78 years old. He celebrated his 79th birthday when several British news outlets published his story. The mother of his newest child, Charlotte, was only 25 years old when the baby was born. Calvert said that his son is a “gift from God” and made him feel fortunate that he was able to give his partner a child.

All of Calvert’s other children, who range in age from 38 to 51, are significantly older than his young partner. His older children share the same mother, his first wife, who died over 28 years ago. Calvert initially met Charlotte when he dated her mother for three years. The couple reconnected when Charlotte was older and she became good friends with one of Calvert’s daughters.


9. Michael Young (August 9, 1915 – January 14, 2002)

Age When Child was Born: 80 years old in 1996
Country of Origin:  United Kingdom
Wife:  Dorit Uhlemann (37 years old in 1996)
Number of Children:  6

Michael Youngphoto source: The Young Foundation

Michael Young, the Lord Young of Dartington was known for being a sociologist, social activist, and politician from England. Young was also an educator and believed in implementing policies and programs that would help people live better. Some of his best ideas include the National Consumer Council, the Open University, the National Extension College, the Open College of the Arts, and Language Line.

Young was married three times and fathered six children. He had two sons and a daughter with his first wife Joan Lawton, who he divorced in 1961. After his first marriage ended, Young married Sasha Moorsom, a novelist, sculptor and painter. They had two children and his son Toby Young became a well-known writer and journalist. Moorsom died in 1993 and two years later Young married his third wife Dorit Uhlemann. Their daughter was born in 1996 when Young was 80 and Uhlemann was 37.


8. Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (1878 – September 9, 1958)

Age When Child was Born: 80 years old in 1958
Country of Origin:  Dubai
Wife:  Sheikha Fatima bint Ahmed bin Suliman
Number of Children:  total number unknown but 5 sons are notable

Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoumphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum was the Ruler of Dubai from 1912 until his death in 1958. He was married twice and his first wife, Sheikha Hessa bint Al Murr, is the mother of all of his children except his younger son Ahmed.

Sheikh Saeed’s second wife — Sheikha Fatima bint Ahmed bin Suliman — gave birth to Ahmed in December 1958, three months after Sheikh Saeed died at the age of 80.

Sheikh Ahmed is currently is president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and chairman of the Emirates Group, chairman of Dubai World, and Noor Takaful insurance company.

The Al Maktoum family is one of the world’s wealthiest, several of its members are billionaires. Sheikh Saeed’s children went on to become notable people in Dubai after his death.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, who ruled Dubai until he died in 1990. The Al Maktoum family still rules over Dubai today.


7. Anthony Quinn (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001)

Age When Child was Born: 81 years old in 1996
Country of Origin:  born in Mexico but lived in the United States
Wife:  Katherine Benvin (32 years old in 1996)
Number of Children:  12

Anthony Quinnphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Like a few of the other fathers on this list, Anthony Quinn had more children than most people. Quinn was married three times and fathered 12 children throughout his long life. His two youngest children were initially the result of an affair with his secretary, Katherine Benvin, but he eventually married her when he finally divorced his second wife a year after his second wife with Benvin was born.

Quinn was 78 when his first child with Benvin was born and 81 when their son was born in 1996.

In addition to being an old father, Quinn was a well-known Mexican-American actor. Some of his best-known works include Lawrence of Arabia, The Message, Lion of the Desert, Last Action Hero, and A Walk in the Clouds. He won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, one for Viva Zapata! in 1952 and other for Lust for Life in 1956.


6. Saul Bellow (June 10, 1915 – April 5, 2005)

Age When Child was Born: 84 years old in 1999
Country of Origin:  born in Canada but lived in the United States
Wife:  Janis Freedman (41 years old in 1999)
Number of Children:  4

Saul Bellowphoto source: Wikimedia Commons

Saul Bellow was a famous Jewish Canadian-American writer who won several awards for his literary work. He was the recipient of the the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. Bellow is also the only writer to win the National Book Award for Fiction three times. His most notable works include The Adventures of Augie March, Henderson the Rain King, Herzog, Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Seize the Day, Humboldt’s Gift and Ravelstein.

Of course, Bellow wouldn’t be on this list if he wasn’t also one of the oldest fathers ever in the world. Bellow was married and divorced four times before he ended up with Janis Freedman. She gave birth to Bellow’s fourth child and only daughter in December 1999 when Bellow was 84 years old. Bellow died when his daughter was just five years old.


5. Armais Nazarov (c.1921 – Unknown)

Age When Child was Born: 89 years old in 2010
Country of Origin:  Russia
Wife:  Yevgenia Nazarov (35 years old in 2010)
Number of Children:  4

Armais Nazarovphoto source: The Daily Mail

Armais Nazarov became a father for the fourth time in 2010 at the age of 89. He has three other sons – who are 61, 50, and 12 years old – as well as several grandchildren. Nazaraov is a decorated World War II veteran who served in Stalin’s Red Army.

Nazarov’s wife, Yevgenia, is 54 years younger than he is but she said that she doesn’t feel their age gap. At the time, Nazarov said that he hoped he would be strong enough to father another child because he wants a daughter. He says that the secret to his strength is having a young wife and meeting her demands.


4. Julio Iglesias Sr. (July 25, 1915 – December 19, 2005)

Age When Child was Born: 90 years old in 2005
Country of Origin:  Spain
Wife:  Ronna Keith (42 years old in 2006)
Number of Children:  4

Julio Iglesias Sr. photo source: elperiodico.com

Julio Iglesias Sr. is one of the several men on this list known for something other than being a senior citizen father. If his name looks familiar, its because Julio Iglesias Sr. was the patriarch of the famous Iglesias family of singers which includes his son Julio Iglesias and his two grandsons Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias Jr.

Julio Sr. was not a singer like his descendants — he was a gynecologist in Spain, who helped found the Madrid Maternity Clinic and served as the head of its sterility, infertility, and family planning unit.

Iglesias Sr. had his two older sons during his first marriage to María del Rosario de la Cueva y Perignat. They divorced in 1983 and sometime in the 1990s, Iglesias remarried an American woman named Ronna Keith, who was more than half his age.

Keith and Iglesias had their first child in 2004 when Iglesias was 88 and Keith was 40. Less than a year later Kieth got pregnant again, but Iglesias suddenly died in December 2005 at the age of 90. Their daughter was born seven months after Iglesias died.


3. Nanu Ram Jogi (c.1917 – Unknown)

Age When Child was Born: 90 years old in 2007
Country of Origin:  India
Wife:  Saburi
Number of Children:  21

Nanu Ram Jogiphoto source: The Daily Mail

In 2007, Nanu Ram Jogi made international headlines when he unbelievably fathered his 21st child at the age of 90. Jogi is a farmer from India and married to his fourth wife Saburi. She was originally married to Jogi’s eldest son Shiv Lal, who died sometime in 1997. Jogi has fathered so many children that he admits that he isn’t sure how many he actually has.

Jogi attributes his virility to daily walks and plenty of meat. At the time, Jogi said that he doesn’t plan to stop having children anytime soon. He believes that he can survive another few decades and keep having children until he’s 100 – if Jogi is still alive, he would have turned 100 in 2017.


2. Les Colley (1898 – 1998)

Age When Child was Born: 92 years old in 1992
Country of Origin:  Victoria, Australia
Wife:  Patty Colley (38 years old in 1992)
Number of Children:  9

Les Colleyphoto source: health.wikinut.com

Although not much is known about Les Colley, he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest legal father. He was 92 years old when his ninth child, Oswald, was born in July 1992.

Colley married Oswald’s mother, who was his third wife, about a year before Oswald was born. Patty was a Fijian woman that Colley had met through a dating agency when he was 90 years old.

Colley lived an active and healthy life, he was a non-drinker and non-smoker. He died in 1998 from pneumonia, just four months shy of his 100th birthday.


1. Ramjit Raghav (c.1916 – Present)

Age When Child was Born: 96 years old in 2012
Country of Origin:  North India
Wife:  Shakuntala Devi (52 years old in 2012)
Number of Children:  2

Ramjit Raghavphoto source: The Daily Mail

Ramjit Raghav is reportedly the oldest father in the world. In 2012, Raghav fathered his second son at the age of 96. He first garnered international media attention in 2010 when his first son was born and Raghav claimed that he was about 94 years old at the time.

Raghav said that he was healthy enough to have children at such an old age because he has been a vegetarian for his entire life. His story became famous enough to get the attention of People for the Ethical Treat of Animals (PETA) India. PETA released a photograph of Raghav cradling his youngest son with the headline “Vegetarians Still Got It at Age 96.”

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