James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens
(September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980)

On this day at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, African American track
star Jesse  Owens won his fourth gold medal of the Games in
the 4×100-meter relay. His relay team set a new world record of
39.8 seconds, which held for 20 years. In their strong showing in
track-and-field events at the XIth Olympiad, Jesse Owens and
other African American athletes struck a propaganda blow
against Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who planned to use the Berlin
Games as a showcase of supposed Aryan superiority.

Owens with Adolf Hitler.

One of Jesse Owens’ four gold medals won at the 1936
Olympics in Berlin.