The woman listed as the world's oldest person has died at the age of 116.

Besse Cooper was one of only a handful of people recognized by the Guiness World Records to have ever lived to that age. She died Tuesday about 70 kilometers outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Her son Sidney Cooper said she was put on oxygen in her room after she started having trouble breathing. He said she died “peacefully” Tuesday afternoon.

Cooper was declared the world's oldest person in January but was stripped of the title in May, when it was learned that a Brazilian woman was 48 days older. Guiness World Records handed Cooper back the title when the Brazilian woman died on June 21.

Cooper was a former schoolteacher who lived through three centuries. She is survived by four children.