World’s longest diary comes to an abrupt end

He spent a quarter of a century chronicling his life in five-minute segments. In his journal he faithfully recorded his reflections on God and his every visit to the lavatory. He even taped a nostril hair to its pages so that future scientists can study his DNA.

He slept for just two hours at a time so that he could record his dreams. He had three dozen ways of describing the act of urination. At his most prolific, he wrote three million words a year.



Now the Rev Robert Shields has died, aged 89, leaving a 37.5 million-word document that fills 91 boxes.

Mr Shields, a Protestant minister and teacher, died of a heart attack on October 15 at his home in Washington state. He had hoped that future historians would find his diary valuable.