Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion, holding the title from 1908 to 1915.

John Arthur "Jack" Johnson was born on 31 March 1878 in Galveston, Texas, the second of six children born to Henry and Tina Johnson, both formerly enslaved people who worked blue-collar jobs to raise their family. He left school after the fifth grade to work on Galveston's docks, and began boxing informally in "battles royal," degrading exhibitions in which Black youths fought each other for the amusement of white spectators who threw coins to the winner. Johnson turned professional in 1897, and after years of being denied opportunities against white champions due to boxing's rigid colour line, finally secured a title fight against Canadian champion Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, defeating him by technical knockout in the 14th round on 26 December 1908 to become the first Black heavyweight champion in history. Johnson's dominance, wealth, and open relationships with white women provoked a fierce backlash across Jim Crow-era America, culminating in the desperate search for a "Great White Hope" to reclaim the title and his 1910 defeat of former champion James J. Jeffries in what was billed the "Fight of the Century," sparking race riots across the country. He was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act for transporting a white woman across state lines, a prosecution widely viewed as racially motivated, and fled the United States before eventually returning to serve time. Johnson lost his title to Jess Willard in a 1915 knockout in Havana, and continued fighting in exhibitions into his sixties before dying in a car accident on 10 June 1946, at age 68. He was posthumously pardoned for his Mann Act conviction by President Donald Trump in 2018, correcting what many historians had long regarded as a grave injustice.

Defensive counterpuncher with excellent ring IQ

Broke racial barriers in boxing, controversial figure who challenged social norms

• First Black world heavyweight champion
• International Boxing Hall of Fame
• posthumous presidential pardon 2018