The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:
"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.
JoshAmann85 on August 19th, 2024 at 01:28 UTC »
Doesn't look a day over 128
Humble-Respond-1879 on August 19th, 2024 at 01:29 UTC »
Regardless of accuracy, he certainly looked his age. Or more.
MonkeeSage on August 19th, 2024 at 03:42 UTC »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Smith_(Chippewa_Indian)