Richard Overton, a World War II veteran who was America's oldest man, has died at the age of 112. Overton, who lived in Austin, Texas, died on Thursday at a rehabilitation home, his cousin, Volma Overton Jr, told the Austin-American Statesman. He had been hospitalised earlier this month with pneumonia, the newspaper said.

Overton's longevity and his status as the oldest living American veteran of World War II made him a celebrity of sorts over the past few years. In 2013, he visited Washington and met with president Barack Obama at the White House. The street where he lived in Austin was renamed "Richard Overton Avenue" on his 111th birthday. Overton was born on May 11, 1906 in Texas. He served in the US Army in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945.