For the thousandth time could people stop propagating the myth of increased lifespan!! Life expectancy at birth is not necessarily a measure of longetivity; if one analyzes the census data they will find that the diffference is almost completely due to infant mortality. If you look at the actual numbers you will see that since the 1950s, people are not living longer at all, fewer infants and children are dying. Big difference. In fact, even if you go back to the first complete census you will see that in 1871 the life expectancy for a 65 year old male was 10 years. In 1991 the life expectancy for a male was 12 years - 120 years of medicine and we get a two year difference that may not even be statistically significant.
I think you're wrong. Twenty years ago I had only lived 33 years. Today I've lived 53 years.
If we factor in 50million babies that were snuffed out in 35 years, the numbers really start to get worse.
Lacking antibiotics, etc., all except the very robust and healthy were killed off long before 65. If someone made it to 65 in 1871, they were the healthy remnant of their generation. And probably very lonely.
Irrelevant. The HUGE increases in lifespan mostly show up in the teenage through middle-adult years (when lots of people died back then, but hardly anybody dies nowadays).