LONDON, April 4. (CNN) - A British pensioner hasjust been the crowned the world’s oldest man afterhe celebrated his 112th birthday.Bornon March 29, 1908, Robert Weighton has officially been confirmed as the newtitle holder by Guinness World Records (GWR), it was announced.Hescoops the title after Chitetsu Watanabe, from Japan, passed away on February 23.Born on March 5, 1907, he was 112 years and 355 days old.Itis usually customary for adjudicators to meet with record holders in person.However, due to global social distancing measures that have been appliedbecause of the coronavirus pandemic, Weighton was awarded his certificateremotely, at the assisted living home where he lives.Playingdown the accolade, Weighton described himself as “an ordinary bloke whojust happened to live for a long time.”Ina video clip posted on the GWR site, he said: “I have never been someonewho said ‘I want to climb Everest’ or sail around the world... I just take lifeas it comes along.”Bornin Kingston-Upon-Hull in Yorkshire, he was one of seven children. After leavingschool at 16, he undertook a marine engineering apprenticeship. He later movedto Taiwan where he spent two years learning Mandarin and taught at a missionaryschool.In1937 he married his wife Agnes, who was also a teacher. Their first child wasborn in Taiwan, but two years later they left for the UK.
Theirtiming clashed with the outbreak of World War II, and the family was divertedto Canada.Duringthe war, the family moved from Canada to Connecticut in the US. While there,Weighton worked in a factory making planes to support Britain’s war efforts.Thecouple had two more children during this time and remained in the US until1945, when they then returned to the UK.Weightonlater went on to teach at London’s City University. His wife Agnes passed awayin 1995.Thegrandfather of 10 and great-grandfather of 25 said: “When you’re young youdon’t think about being old. It’s a new record for me. The only other record Iremember ever having was jumping five feet two inches high in my school days inthe final high jump on sports day.”Weightonhas more than four years to go until he beats the record of the longest everliving man. That accolade goes to Jiroemon Kimura from Japan, who was born onApril 19, 1897 and died aged 116 years and 54 days on June 12, 2013.KaneTanaka, the world’s oldest woman, lives in Japan. She celebrated her 117thbirthday in January.