Share

Jesse Owens biography

2 photos

Quick Facts

  • NAME: Jesse Owens
  • OCCUPATION: Track and Field Athlete
  • BIRTH DATE: September 12, 1913
  • DEATH DATE: March 31, 1980
  • EDUCATION: East Technical High School, The Ohio State University
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Oakville, Alabama
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Tucson, Arizona
  • Originally: James Cleveland Owens
  • Nickname: "The Buckeye Bullet"
  • AKA: James Owens
  • Nickname: "J.C."

Best Known For

American track-and-field athlete Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. His long jump world record stood for 25 years.

Videos see all videos

Quiz

Think you know about Biography?

Answer questions and see how you rank against other players.

Play Now
Jesse Owens - Mini Biography watch more videos (1)

Synopsis

Jesse Owens, also known as "The Buckeye Bullet," was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. In high school, he won three track and field events at the 1933 National Interscholastic Championships. Two years later, while competing for Ohio State University, he equaled one world record and broke three others. In 1936 Owens won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Berlin. Owens died from cancer on March 31, 1980.

Quotes

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that's where it's at."
– Jesse Owens

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort."
– Jesse Owens

"Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust."
– Jesse Owens

"When I came back to my native country, after all the stories about Hitler, I couldn't ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. I wasn't invited to shake hands with Hitler, but I wasn't invited to the White House to shake hands with the president, either."
– Jesse Owens

Early Years

The son of a sharecropper and the grandson of slaves, Jesse Owens was born James Cleveland Owens on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. A frail child, Owens was often sick from his battles with chronic bronchial congestion and pneumonia. Still, he was expected to work, and at the young age of seven he was picking up to 100 pounds of cotton a day to help his family put food on the table.

At the age of 9, Owens moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where the young "J.C." discovered a world far different than the slower, southern life he'd known. School proved to be one of the bigger changes. Gone was the one-room schoolhouse he'd attended in Alabama, replaced by a bigger setting with stricter teachers. Here, Owens earned the nickname that would stick with him the rest of his life: One of his instructors, unable to decipher his thick southern accent, believed the young athlete said his name was "Jesse," when he in fact had said "J.C."

Rising Star

At East Technical High School, Owens quickly made a name for himself as a nationally recognized sprinter, setting records in the 100 and 200-yard dashes as well as the long jump. After graduating, Owens enrolled at The Ohio State University ,where he continued to flourish as an athlete.

At the 1935 Big Ten Championships, the "Buckeye Bullet," as he was also known, overcame a severe tailbone injury and tied a world record in the 100-yard dash—and set a long jump record of 26-8 ¼ that would stand for 25 years. Owens also set new world marks in the 220-yard dash and in the 220-yard low hurdles.

His dominance at the Big Ten games was par for the course for Owens that year, which saw him win four events at the NCAA Championships, two events at the AAU Championships and three others at the Olympic trials. In all, Owens competed in 42 events that year, winning them all.

1936 Olympic Games

For Adolph Hitler and the Nazis, the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games were expected to be a German showcase and a statement for Aryan supremacy. Most notably, Hitler lambasted America for including black athletes on its Olympic roster.

But it was the African-American participants who helped cement America's success at the Olympic Games. In all, the United States won 11 gold medals, six of them by black athletes. Owens was easily the most dominant athlete to compete. He captured four gold medals (the 100 meter, the long jump, the 200 meter and the 400-meter relay), and broke two Olympic records along the way. Owens record for the world broad jump would last 25 years until being broken by Olympian Irvin Roberson in 1960. After Owens won the 100-meter event, a furious Hitler stormed out of the stadium, though some reports indicate that Hitler later congratulated the athlete on his success.

ADVERTISEMENT
9431142 9431142
profile id: 9431142
profile name: Jesse Owens
profile occupation:
related profile id: 9431142
related profile name: Jesse Owens
related profile occupation:
related profile img: /imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/O/Jesse-Owens-9542225-1-402.jpg
related profile URL: /people/jesse-owens-9431142
profile
pop
Your Connections

Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

specific profile connection
See More Bio Connections
Your Friends' Connections
specific friend connection
Profile Connections
    Show More Connections
    Included In These Groups

    See all related groups

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Celebrity Connections

    Show More Connections
    Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!