Birth of James Cleveland Jesse Owens
Birth of James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens Biography and Timeline
Follow James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens through 12 dated historical records for United States of America.
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
12Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1913–1990Years on this page
1913
1935
World Record
Breaks 3 world records & ties another at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Michigan-in just 45 minute
1936
Olympic Gold Medal
Winner of the 100m Olympic Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal
Winner of the long jump Olympic Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal
Winner of the 200m Olympic Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal
Winner of the 4 x 100m relay team Olympic Gold Medal
Olympic Gold Medal
Wins 4 Olympic gold medals, challenges the myth of Hitler's Aryan superiority
1976
Honours
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gerald Ford
President of United States of America
Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gerald Ford
1980
Death of James Cleveland Jesse Owens
Death of James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens
1990
Congressional Gold Medal
Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by George HW Bush
Honours
Awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by George HW Bush
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.