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American Boxer
1878 - Born in Galveston, Texas, USA on the 31st of March.
1908 - 1915 - The first Black American World Champion.
1908 - He defeated the Canadian Tommy Burns at Sydney. His win provoked violent racial prejudice, and a ‘Great White Hope' was sought to defeat him - the former champion James J Jeffries - whom he knocked out in the 15th round in a fight in 1910. He lost his title in 1915 to Jess Willard in 26 rounds.
His relationship with one of the two white women he married led to a conviction under the Mann Act for transporting a white woman across state lines for immoral purposes, and he was a fugitive in Europe for seven years.
1946 - He died in a car accident, and his life became the subject of a Broadway play,
1970 -Movie about his life, "The Great White Hope".
1954 - He was admitted to the Boxing Hall of Fame.
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