FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1937 until his temporary retirement in 1949. He was victorious in 25 consecutive title defenses, a record for all weight classes. Louis had the longest single reign as champion of any boxer in history.

Louis’ cultural impact was felt well outside the ring. He is widely regarded as the first person of African-American descent to achieve the status of a nationwide hero within the United States, and was also a focal point of anti-Nazi sentiment leading up to and during World War II because of his historic rematch with German Boxer Max Schmeling in 1938. He was instrumental in integrating the game of golf, breaking the sport’s color barrier in America by appearing under a sponsor’s exemption in a PGA event in 1952.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

1740s

• 1740: APPLE TREES IN BLOOM, R.I.

1850s

• BORN 1857: SIR RONALD ROSS (BACTERIOLOGIST)

1880s

• DIED 1884: CYRUS HALL MCCORMICK (INVENTOR)

1910s

• BORN 1914: JOE LOUIS (BOXER)

1940s

• BORN 1941: RITCHIE VALENS (SINGER)

1950s

• BORN 1950: STEVIE WONDER (MUSICIAN)
• 1958: VELCRO TRADEMARK WAS REGISTERED IN THE UNITED STATES

1960s

• DIED 1961: GARY COOPER (ACTOR)
• BORN 1966: DARIUS RUCKER (MUSICIAN)

1970s

• BORN 1978: BARRY ZITO (BASEBALL PLAYER)
• BORN 1979: PRINCE CARL PHILIP OF SWEDEN

1980s

• 1981: POPE JOHN PAUL II WAS SHOT
• 1983: A NEW BRUNSWICK EARTHQUAKE MEASURED 3.9 ON THE RICHTER SCALE
• BORN 1986: ROBERT PATTINSON (ACTOR)

1990s

• BORN 1993: DEBBY RYAN (ACTRESS)

2010s

• DIED 2011: DEREK BOOGAARD (HOCKEY PLAYER)
• DIED 2013: DR. JOYCE BROTHERS (PSYCHOLOGIST)
• DIED 2019: DORIS DAY (SINGER & ACTRESS)

COURTESY www.almanac.com