James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens
(1913 - 1980) Track and Field Star
Achievement:
In the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, he became an
internationally famous athlete by winning four track and field gold
medals, and, as a Black man, harming Hitler's attempt to use the
games as a showcase for Aryan superiority.
Achievements made possible by sheer hard work and the encouragement
of Charles Riley, his junior-high track coach at Fairview Junior High,
who had entered him on the track team.
Notable:
Owens was segregated as a 'black American' and after his athletic
career ended, he was forced to make a living by running a dry cleaning
business and even worked as a gas station attendant. In 1996 he was
prosecuted for tax evasion.
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Despite being an athlete, he was an avid smoker for 35 years, and
died of lung cancer at the age of 66 in Tucson, Arizona.
Born:
Lawrence County, Alabama in the Oakville community.
Education:
Attended Ohio State University while working part time jobs to pay for
his education.
Married:
In 1935 he married Minnie Ruth Solomon, his sweetheart since junior high school
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