Jordan Ellis
James Cleveland Jesse Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama, the youngest of ten children. His parents, Henry and Emma Owens, were sharecroppers who, like thousands of other African Americans living in the South in the post-World War I era, decided to migrate to one of the industrial cities of the North. In 1921, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Owens began his athletic career in 1928, setting Junior High School records in the high jump and long jump. He went on to become one of the greatest athletes in track and field history, winning four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, and setting multiple world records. Owens died of lung cancer on March 31, 1980, in Tucson, Arizona, at the age of 66. While the hospital where he was born remains unknown, his life and achievements continue to inspire and influence generations of athletes and individuals worldwide.
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What You'll Learn
Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, in 1913
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913. He was the youngest of ten children born to Henry Cleveland Owens and Mary Emma Fitzgerald, who were sharecroppers. His grandparents had been slaves.
Owens was born into a large family, with six brothers and three sisters. He was a sickly child, often too frail to help his father and brothers with farm work. When he was nine years old, Owens and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in search of better work opportunities. This move enabled Owens to attend public school, where a teacher accidentally wrote down his name as "Jesse" instead of his initials, "J.C."
In Cleveland, the Owens family rented a house on Hamilton Avenue near East 21st Street. They lived in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood, with neighbors from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Serbia. Despite the racial tensions of the time, Owens recalled that the Polish boys he met in the neighborhood treated him as a friend, and his skin colour did not seem to matter to them.
Young Jesse Owens's life in Cleveland laid the foundation for his future athletic success. He began competing in races at age 13 and quickly became a standout runner, known for his graceful style. By the time he was in high school, Owens had become a well-known athlete, setting records in the high jump and long jump. He continued to excel in athletics and academics, eventually becoming one of the greatest athletes in track and field history.
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He was the youngest of 10 children
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913. He was the youngest of 10 children born to Henry Cleveland Owens and Mary Emma Fitzgerald. His parents were sharecroppers, and his grandparents had been slaves. Owens was a sickly child, often too frail to help his father and brothers in the fields. When Owens was nine years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration, in search of better work opportunities. The family rented a house on Hamilton Avenue near East 21st Street. The area was home to a small group of African Americans living within a larger ethnic neighbourhood of immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Serbia.
In Cleveland, Owens enrolled in the sixth grade at Bolton Elementary School. It was here that he acquired the name "Jesse" when his teacher misheard his name as "J.C." due to his strong Southern accent. Owens took on various menial jobs in his youth, including delivering groceries, loading freight cars, and working in a shoe repair shop. Despite his humble beginnings as the youngest of a large family, Owens went on to become one of the greatest athletes in track and field history. He excelled in events such as short sprints and the long jump, breaking numerous world records during his career.
Owens' early life as the youngest of 10 children shaped his experiences and provided him with resilience and determination. Growing up in a large family during a time of economic hardship and racial segregation presented unique challenges. However, his family's move to Cleveland, Ohio, also opened up new opportunities for education and athletics. Owens' athletic career began in Cleveland when he was in junior high school, setting records in the high jump and the long jump. Despite facing racism and segregation throughout his life, Owens' talent and dedication to his sport propelled him to remarkable success.
Being the youngest of 10 children, Owens likely learned to navigate competition and collaboration within his large family dynamic. This may have contributed to his exceptional athletic abilities and competitive drive. As a child, Owens picked cotton with his family and worked various odd jobs to contribute to the household. While his older siblings and father worked in the steel mills, Owens found employment as a shoe shine boy in a shoe repair shop. Despite the challenges of growing up in a large family during a time of economic struggle and racial inequality, Owens' upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic and a determination to pursue his athletic dreams.
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His parents were sharecroppers
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was born on September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. He was the youngest of ten children born to Henry Cleveland Owens and Mary Emma Fitzgerald (also known as Emma Alexander Owens).
His parents, Henry and Emma, were sharecroppers. Sharecropping is a form of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. It was a common practice in the post-Civil War South, particularly among African Americans who had limited access to land ownership due to racial discrimination. Henry and Emma, like thousands of other African Americans in the South during the post-World War I era, decided to leave and migrate to one of the industrial cities of the North in search of better opportunities.
In 1921 or 1922, when Jesse was nine years old, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. They rented a house on Hamilton Avenue near East 21st Street. The area was home to a small community of African Americans living within a larger ethnic neighborhood of immigrants from countries like Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Serbia. The move allowed Jesse to attend public school, where a teacher accidentally wrote down his name as "Jesse" instead of "J.C."—the name he would be known by for the rest of his life.
Jesse's father and older brothers worked in the nearby steel mills, while Jesse worked in his neighborhood as a shoe shine boy at a shoe repair shop on St. Clair Avenue. In 1926, when Jesse was 13 years old, the family moved again to a house on East 90th Street, just south of Cedar Avenue. This move may have been due to his mother's discomfort in the previous neighborhood. The new house was located in an area where many middle-class and professional black families were settling in the 1920s.
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He was a sickly child, often too frail to help his family in the fields
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913. He was the youngest of ten children born to Henry Cleveland Owens and Mary Emma Fitzgerald, sharecroppers who rented land. Owens was a sickly child, often too frail to help his father and brothers in the fields. He suffered from persistent pneumonia, which nearly killed him twice in his early life. Because of his fragile health, Owens was spared much of the difficult farm work that his family was engaged in.
The Owens family, like thousands of other African Americans living in the South in the post-World War I era, decided to migrate to one of the industrial cities of the North in search of better opportunities. In 1921, when Owens was nine years old, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration (1910-1970). This move exposed young Owens to regular schooling and athletic participation. He enrolled in the sixth grade at Bolton Elementary School, where a teacher accidentally wrote down his name as "Jesse" instead of his nickname, "J.C."
In Cleveland, Owens's father and older brothers worked in the nearby steel mills, while Owens himself worked in his neighbourhood, finding employment as a shoe shine boy at a nearby shoe repair shop on St. Clair Avenue. Despite his frail health, Owens began competing in races at the age of 13 and quickly became a standout runner, known for his graceful style. He also took on various menial jobs in his spare time, such as delivering groceries, loading freight cars, and working in a shoe repair shop.
Owens's athletic career took off in 1928, when he set Junior High School records in the high jump and the running broad jump (now known as the long jump). He continued to excel in athletics throughout his time at East Technical High School in Cleveland, where he broke national records and gained national attention for his remarkable athletic abilities. Owens's early years in Cleveland, where he faced racism and segregation, contributed significantly to his resilience and ability to cope with adversity both on and off the athletic field.
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In 1921, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio; he was 9 years old
In 1921, when Jesse Owens was nine years old, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, with his family. Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama, in 1913, the youngest of ten children. His parents, Henry and Emma Owens, were sharecroppers who, like thousands of other African Americans living in the South in the post-World War I era, decided to migrate to one of the industrial cities of the North. The move to Cleveland was part of the Great Migration (1910-1970), during which millions of African Americans left the segregated and rural South in search of better opportunities in the urban and industrial North.
The Owens family initially rented a house on Hamilton Avenue near East 21st Street in Cleveland. The area was home to a small group of African Americans living within a larger ethnic neighbourhood of immigrants from countries like Poland, Lithuania, Russia, and Serbia. Owens recalled in a 1961 interview that he became friends with the Polish boys in the neighbourhood, who seemed to accept him regardless of his skin colour.
In Cleveland, Owens enrolled in public school. It was here that he acquired the name "Jesse" when his teacher misheard his name as "J.C." and wrote it down as "Jesse." Owens would be known by this name for the rest of his life. In addition to attending school, Owens also worked in his new neighbourhood, finding employment as a shoe shine boy at a shoe repair shop on St. Clair Avenue.
In 1926, when Owens was 13 years old, his family moved again within Cleveland to a house on East 90th Street, just south of Cedar Avenue. This move may have been prompted by his mother's discomfort in the previous neighbourhood. The new house was located in an area where many middle-class and professional black families were settling in the 1920s. Owens was enrolled in the sixth grade at Bolton Elementary School, where he continued his education.
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