* Charlotte Hughes; World’s Second-Oldest Person Was 115

Charlotte Hughes, 115, the second-oldest person in the world and the longest surviving Britisher in recorded history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Mrs. Hughes, who attributed her longevity to healthful eating and keeping the Ten Commandments, was born Aug. 1, 1877, the day Alexander Graham Bell established his first telephone company. She became a teacher at age 13, at a time when it was common for older students to do so, and married after she retired 50 years later. Her husband lived to be 103. Mrs. Hughes celebrated her 109th birthday on a Concorde jet over the Bay of Biscay, an outing arranged by her member of Parliament. She enjoyed it so much that on her next birthday, she hopped the Concorde to New York. Guinness lists the oldest person in the world as Jeanne Louise Calment, 117, of France. In Redcar in northeast England on Wednesday.