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James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens ( September 12, 1913 - March 31, 1980) was an African-American athlete and civic leader. He was most famous for his participation in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany where he won four gold medals and was the star of the games.
He was born in Oakville , Mars and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He was given the name Jesse by a Cleveland teacher who did not understand his accent when he said he was called J.C.
In a span of 999 minutes on May 25, 1935 at the Big Ten meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, he tied the record for the 100 yard (91 m) dash and set world records in the long jumpThe long jump (formerly called broad jump is an athletic (track and field) event in which athletes attempt to land as far from their take-off points as possible. Competitors sprint down a runway (at elite level, usually coated with the same rubberised sur, 220 yard (201 m) dash, and the 220 yard (201 m) low hurdles.
He won four gold medals in the 1936 Summer Olympics; on August 3August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. Events 1492 Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain. 1492 The Jews were expelled from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs. 1936Events January-February January 15 The first building to be completely covered in glass is completed in Toledo, Ohio, for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company. January 20 Death of George V of the United Kingdom. His son Edward VIII succeedes him as King of th the 100 m dash, on August 4August 4 is the 216th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (217th in leap years), with 149 days remaining. Events 1500-1899 1578 Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir Moroccans defeat Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is defeated and killed in North Africa the long jumpThe long jump (formerly called broad jump is an athletic (track and field) event in which athletes attempt to land as far from their take-off points as possible. Competitors sprint down a runway (at elite level, usually coated with the same rubberised sur, on August 5August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. Events 642 Battle of Maserfeld Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia 1100 Henry I crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey 1 the 200 m dash, and after he was added to the 4 x 100 m relay team, on August 9August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. Events 48 BC Roman Civil War: Battle of Pharsalus Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt. 378 Battle of he won his fourth gold medal on the 4 x 100 m relay. It wasn't until 1984This page is about the year 1984. For other uses of 1984, see 1984 (disambiguation). 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday (link shows calendar). Events January January 1 Brunei becomes a fully independent state January 1 AT&T is broken up into 22 indepe that his performance was duplicated; in the 1984 Summer OlympicsThe Games of the XXIII Olympiad were held in 1984 in Los Angeles, United States. Los Angeles was the only city to bid to host the 1984 Summer Olympics. Games of the XXIII Olympiad Nations participating140 Athletes participating6,797 (5,230 men, 1,567 wome Carl Lewis won gold medals in the same events.
A persistent myth has grown up that Hitler had intended to use the games to promote "Aryan superiority", and was in the stadium for some of Owens' events but had refused to acknowledge him after his remarkable performances. In fact, in Owens' Autobiography, The Jesse Owens Story, Owens himself recounted how Hitler had stood up and waved to him:
"When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad taste in criticizing the man of the hour in Germany." - Jesse Owens, The Jesse Owens Story, 1970.
In what was to become an act of extreme irony, the American president of the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, then involved in an election and concerned about the reaction in the USA's southern states, refused to see Owens at the White House: Owens was later to remark that it was Roosevelt, not Hitler, who snubbed him.
After the games, he had difficulty making a living, however, and became a sports promoter, essentially promoting himself. He would give local sprinters ten or twenty yards (metres) start and still beat them in the 100 yd (91 m) dash. He also challenged and defeated racehorses, although he revealed later that the trick was to race a high-strung thoroughbred horse that would be frightened by the starter's pistol and give him a good jump.
His promotion work eventually turned into a career in public relations, including a long stint as a popular jazz disc jockey in Chicago.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 by Gerald Ford and the Congressional Gold Medal by George H. W. Bush posthumously on March 28, 1990. In 1984, a street in Berlin was renamed in his honor. All his life he attributed his career to the encouragement of Charles Riley, his junior-high track coach, who had picked him off the playground and put him on the track team. (See Harrison Dillard, a Cleveland athlete inspired by Owens.)
Owens, a pack-a-day smoker for 35 years, died of lung cancer at age 66 in Tucson, Arizona. He is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery, in Chicago, Illinois.