March 31, 1878 John Arthur “Jack” Johnson, hall of fame boxer and the first Black World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, was born in Galveston, Texas

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Photo: March 31, 1878 John Arthur “Jack” Johnson, hall of fame boxer and the first Black World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, was born in Galveston, Texas. By 1902, Johnson had won at least 50 fights against White and Black opponents and in 1903 won the World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Johnson finally won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship December 26, 1908 with a technical knockout over Tommy Burns. On July 4, 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James Jeffries came out of retirement “for the sole purpose of proving that a White man is better than a Negro.” The “Fight of the Century” ended with Johnson knocking Jeffries out. Johnson’s win triggered riots in more than 50 cities. Johnson lost his title in 1915 but continued fighting professionally until 1938. He retired with a record of 73 wins, 13 losses, and 9 draws. On April 18, 1922, Johnson received patent number 1,413,121 for an improved wrench for tightening loosened fastening devices. Johnson died in a car accident June 10, 1946. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Johnson’s life is the basis for the play and subsequent 1970 movie “The Great White Hope” and the 2005 documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” Johnson’s biography, “Jack Johnson, In the Ring and Out,” was published in 1977. In 2009, a memoir by Johnson that was published in French was translated and published as “My Life and Battles.” (Source: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History)










March 31, 1878 John Arthur “Jack” Johnson, hall of fame boxer and the first Black World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, was born in Galveston, Texas. By 1902, Johnson had won at least 50 fights against White and Black opponents and in 1903 won the World Colored Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Johnson finally won the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship December 26, 1908 with a technical knockout over Tommy Burns. On July 4, 1910, former undefeated heavyweight champion James Jeffries came out of retirement “for the sole purpose of proving that a White man is better than a Negro.” The “Fight of the Century” ended with Johnson knocking Jeffries out. Johnson’s win triggered riots in more than 50 cities. Johnson lost his title in 1915 but continued fighting professionally until 1938. He retired with a record of 73 wins, 13 losses, and 9 draws. On April 18, 1922, Johnson received patent number 1,413,121 for an improved wrench for tightening loosened fastening devices. Johnson died in a car accident June 10, 1946. He was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Johnson’s life is the basis for the play and subsequent 1970 movie “The Great White Hope” and the 2005 documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.” Johnson’s biography, “Jack Johnson, In the Ring and Out,” was published in 1977. In 2009, a memoir by Johnson that was published in French was translated and published as “My Life and Battles.”

(Source: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History)

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