Bob Weighton, a 111-year-old man from Hampshire, has become the world’s oldest man, following the death of Chitetsu Watanabe, the former record holder.
TheCable earlier reported how Watanabe had passed on at his nursing home in Niigata, just 11 days after he was certified by the Guinness World Records (GWR) as the new holder of the title.
In a new development, Weighton, a former British engineer, who was born in 1908, is now the oldest man in the world.
Weighton, who turns 112 on March 28, can now expect to receive a certificate of his own.
While reacting to the prospects of being named the world’s oldest, Weighton was reported to have said: “I don’t really feel satisfied because it means someone else has died.”
“I just accept it as a fact. It’s not something I ever intended, wanted or worked for but it’s just one of those facts of life. You might find it amazing but it’s just one of those things.”
While Weighton was formerly both England’s oldest man and Britain’s joint oldest man, the former teacher now shares the title of the oldest person in Britain with Joan Hocquard, from Dorset.
Like late Watanabe, who revealed his secret to longevity as continuously smiling and never getting angry, Weighton added that he thinks “laughter is extremely important to avoid dying.”
“I’ve done nothing to deserve or achieve this age. I’m just one of the lucky ones. I think laughter is extremely important,” the old man explained.
“Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people taking themselves too seriously.”
Weighton is reported to have married Agnes Weighton, his wife, in 1937 and has two sons, a daughter, 10 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren to show for it.
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the man is not the world oldest, go round the globe you will see more than that age
I don’t know why the west always consider their place is only where the most outstanding can happen. The mentioned late Watanabe to be the oldest man in the world before Weighton took over. How many areas, locality, society or even countries has been carried along while making assessment of who the oldest person in the world is and was! In my locality alone there are several elderly people that are more than 130 years. I strongly believe that it is healthy if the west can extend the search for oldest person in the world to include Africa.