I am sure 99 percent of our readers may have guessed James Cleveland Owens, i.e., Jesse Owens was the first African-American to win four Olympic gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. While Owens four gold medals were a blow to Adolf Hitler, he is not the first African-American to win Olympic gold. The correct answer is Dr. John Baxter Taylor, Jr.
For you historians, Dr. Taylor was the first African American to win a gold medal, doing so at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, some 28 years before Jesse Owens improbable achievements. Taylor was a member of the United States winning medley relay team, clocking a time of 49.8 over 400 meters in his leg of the race.
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The Olympian: An American Triumph [Book] by Craig T. Williams
$19 online
"I dare greatly, and I shall live my life as no ordinary man bound by a game of chance. "
- John Baxter Taylor Jr.
Running is his sacred ritual. As his legs gracefully carry him around the track at the University of Pennsylvania, he feels the wind in his face and freedom at his back. It is 1905, and John Baxter Taylor Jr. is three years away from representing the United States at the Olympic Games in England, where he will become the first African American Gold Medalist in Olympic Game history.
Taylor has done everything in his power to live an uncommon life and defy those who dare to stand in his way. As he transforms himself from a skinny boy who licks at the heels of his fellow high school competitors while ignoring racial slurs to becoming one of the best quarter-milers in the world, he beats not only his competitors on the track but also shines academically, eventually earning a degree in veterinary medicine.
In this compelling historical novel, the story of one man's extraordinary life led by his unyielding determination to achieve his dream despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles will inspire you to remember that glory does not die, but is instead passed on to the next person willing to carry the torch in their heart.
- Craig T. Williams
