Can someone please tell me where in canon it states that Armando Dippet was born in the 1600s. According to his article he would have been over 300 years old at the time of his death. Since there are only two ways that are known of in the wizarding world to achieve this type of longevity (i.e. Horcruxes, Elixer of Life) and it appears that Professor Dippet was neither a dark wizard nor an alchemist, nor even a close colleague of Nicholas Flammel, how did he live so long? I know wizards live long lives, but this does seem a bit off without some extra-magical assistance. Could someone please clarify? Thanks —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 126.96.36.199 (talk • contribs).
- The dates are referenced. This image from the movie shows he was quite old. I can't find anything on the second reference referring to Dippet at all, let alone his death date. -Shorty1982 11:15, August 29, 2011 (UTC)
- He definetly died before Harry was taken to Dumbledore's office. So it was between September 1st and December 1992. I think that it is unlikely he is that old but who knows
- look the simple answer is that magic increased his life span, it may have been a youth potion (after all they have ageing potions) or maybe he knew a spell to keep him young. either way you dont need an explanation. it's just superfluous.Jaykespeare 22:14, November 3, 2011 (UTC)
- Wizards lifespan seems to be bigger than that of Muggles. While the real-life human life expectancy usually varies from 65 to 80 years, wizards in their 100s-120s (see Rolanda Hooch, Albus Dumbledore, Elphias Doge, Griselda Marchbanks, etc.) still seem to be active members of society. Even Horace Slughorn, who is around 90 years old, seems to be an extremely agile and competent wizard. Bathilda Bagshot was a great-aunt of Gellert Grindelwald (in the 1890s!), which would imply she was nearing her 200th birthday around the time of her death (one wonders when she would have died if she'd died of old age). Professor Dippet, on the other hand, is described as "ancient" and "feeble". The 1630s birthdate (as given in the Chamber of Secrets film) is entirely consistent with Dippet's description in the book as a "feeble" and "ancient-looking" wizard: clearly a 300-year-old wizard is the equivalent of a 80-something-year-old Muggle. -- 22:55, November 3, 2011 (UTC)
- How do we know that Armando died in 1992? I know he crashed during a flight on his broom and was punished by the Ministry for it, thus making it unlikely that he had any life threatning injuries. I know it says in the books that the Headmaster Portraits is of deceased peoples, but its all seen from Harry's point of view. It is quite possible that his portrait appeared when he resigned normally. It isn't like it is impossible for a portrait to exsist unless the person depicted - sorry for bad spelling - on it has moved on. Look at all the portraits of Lockhart in his office.