May 23 (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, plans to release health records on Friday. Here are some facts about him:

The Arizona senator has clinched his party's nomination for the November presidential election. Here are some facts about him.

* If elected, McCain, who turns 72 in August, would be the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency.

* From a celebrated Navy family, McCain is the son and grandson of four-star admirals and he followed in their footsteps by attending the U.S. Naval Academy.

* He was shot down during a combat mission over Vietnam in 1967. McCain spent 5-1/2 years as a prisoner of war, including two years in solitary confinement, and was subjected to frequent beatings and torture. In the Senate, he has been a critic of harsh interrogation techniques such as "waterboarding" or simulated drowning of terrorism suspects.

* In 1999, during his first run for the presidency, McCain released about 1,500 pages of medical and psychiatric records that detailed his experiences as a prisoner of war. According to those records, he was in good physical and mental health.

* In the past 15 years, McCain has been treated four times for skin cancer. The most serious case was in 2000 when he underwent surgery on his face for melanoma, leaving him with a bulge and a long scar on the left side of his face. He has had regular medical checks and been cancer free since then.

* First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, McCain won the first of four Senate terms in 1986. (Reporting by Deborah Charles)

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