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Biography: Life of
Jesse Owens
Born 1913, Died 1980
Jesse Owens was born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913 in Oakville, Alabama. Looking for a better life, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when J.C. was eight. Owens acquired the name Jessie when he started school in Cleveland. When asked his name, the teacher mistook J.C. for Jesse. From then on he was called Jesse.
When Jesse Owens was in middle school his gym teacher, Charlie Riley, recognized his natural talent as a runner and asked him to join the track team. Riley became Owens’ coach and a lifelong friend.
In 1933, while attending Cleveland East Technical High School, Jesse Owens tied the world record in the 100-yard dash at 9.4 seconds and jumped a distance of almost 25 feet in the broad-jump at the National High School Championship.
In order to be close to his home, Jesse Owens chose to attend Ohio State University. As a black athlete Owens was discriminated against and had to live off campus. This discrimination followed him when he was on the road with the team. Not having been awarded a scholarship by Ohio State, he had to work part time to pay for school.
At the Big Ten Conference Championships in 1935, Jesse Owens set three world records and tied a fourth. Although Owens was suffering from an injured back, he tied the record for the 100-yard dash and set new world records in the broad jump, the 200-yard dash and the 220-yard low hurdles.
In 1936 Jesse Owens entered the Olympics which were to be held in Nazi Germany. Hitler planned to use the Olympics to show the world the supremacy of Germany and that the Aryan people were the dominant race. Jesse Owens set out to prove Hitler wrong. Owens won all of his events: the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the broad jump. He was also part of the team that won the gold medal in the 400-meter relay. Jesse Owens became the first American in the history of Olympic Track and Field to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.
Following the 1936 Olympics, for financial reasons, Jesse Owens dropped out of school. He began to run professionally and took part in exhibition races. Owens later started his own public relations firm. He traveled the country speaking on behalf of companies.
In 1976 Jesse Owens was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Gerald R. Ford.
Jesse Owens died in Tucson on March 31, 1980 at the age of sixty from cancer.
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