Gold medal	Athletics Men's triple jump
Silver medal	Athletics Men's high jump
Bronze medal	Athletics Men's long jump

For the Irish labor leader, see James Connolly (nationalist) Subject: The Olympic Rings. ... For the Olympic athlete, see James Connolly (athlete) James Connolly (June 5, 1868 - May 12, 1916) was an Irish nationalist and Labour leader. ...

James Brendan Bennet Connolly (October 28, 1868 – January 20, 1957) was an American athlete and author. In 1896, he became the first modern Olympic champion. October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. ... 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1957 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. ... The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every two years and alternating between Summer and Winter Games. ...

Early life

James Connolly was born to poor Irish American parents, fisherman John Connolly and Ann O'Donnell, as one of twelve children, in South Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up at a time when the parks and playground movement in Boston was slowly developing, Connolly joined other boys in the streets and vacant lots to run, jump, and play ball. Irish Americans are residents or citizens of the United States who claim Irish ancestry. ... South Boston is a heavily populated neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, located south of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. ...

He was educated at Notre Dame Academy and then at the Mather and Lawrence grammar school, but never went to high school. Instead, Connolly worked as a clerk with an insurance company in Boston and later with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia. Alternative meanings: Boston (disambiguation) The 18th-century Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... Nickname: Hostess City of the South Location in Georgia Founded  -Incorporated 1733   County Bryan, Chatham, and Effingham Mayor Otis S. Johnson Area  - Total  - Water 202. ...

His predisposition to sport also became apparent. Calling a special meeting of the Catholic Library Association (CLA) of Savannah in 1891, he was instrumental in forming a football team. Soon thereafter, Connolly was elected captain of the CLA Cycling Club and aggressively sought to promote the sport on behalf of the Savannah Wheelmen. 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ...

Altogether dissatisfied with his career path, Connolly sought to regain the lost years of high school through self education. In October 1895, he sat for the entrance examination to the Lawrence Scientific School and was unconditionally accepted to study the classics at Harvard University. 1895 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ...

The Olympic Games

Connolly with the American flag after his victory in Athens

After the creation of the International Olympic Committee in 1894, the first modern edition of the Olympic Games were scheduled for April 6 to 15, 1896 in Athens, Greece. Connolly decided to participate, and submitted a request for a leave of absence to the Chairman of the Harvard University Committee on the Regulation of Athletic Sports and was denied. According to Connolly himself, he was informed that his only course of action would be to resign and make a reapplication to the College. Connolly then claimed to have replied: James Brendan Connolly - The First Modern Olympic Champion File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... James Brendan Connolly - The First Modern Olympic Champion File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The International Olympic Committee is an organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin in 1894 to reinstate the Ancient Olympic Games held in Greece, and organise this sports event every four years. ... The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every two years and alternating between Summer and Winter Games. ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ...

"I am not resigning and I’m not making application to re-enter. I’m getting through with Harvard right now. Good day!"

It is unclear whether this really happenend. Harvard records do show a request by Connolly for a leave of absence to Europe, which was denied. Connolly then requested an honorable withdrawal as a student, which was granted on March 19, 1896. March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Representing the Suffolk Athletic Club, which paid for most of Connolly's expenses (Connolly later claimed he paid it all himself), he left for Greece on a German freighter, the Barbarossa, along with most of the rest of the first American Olympic team. After arriving in Naples, Italy he was robbed and almost lost his ticket to Athens. He managed to retrieve it only after a pursuit against the robber. Finally he took the train to Athens, arriving there just for the Games. Location within Italy Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region. ...

The first final on the opening day was the triple jump (then known as the hop, skip and jump), one of the events in which Connolly competed. Connolly's style, taking two hops with the right foot, is no longer allowed in this event nowadays, but was perfectly acceptable in 1896. With this style, he outjumped the field, finishing more than one meter ahead of his nearest opponent by jumping 13.71 m (44 ft 11 3/4 in), earning him the first silver medal (gold medals did not yet exist). With this performance, he became the first Olympic champion since 385 AD, when Athenian Zopyros won the pankration (other sources name the Armenian Varasdates, who won at boxing in 369). The triple jump is an athletics (track and field) event, previously also known as hop, step and jump, whose various names describe the actions a competitor takes. ... The metre, (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... This article is about a foot as a unit of length. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial and U.S. customary unit of length. ... Events February 11 - Oldest Pope elected: Siricius, bishop of Tarragona. ... Pankration (from the Greek all force) is a sport or martial art introduced in the Olympic games in 648 BC, and its modern version. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

He went on to take second place in the high jump (1.65 m / 5 ft 5 in) tying with Robert Garrett behind Ellery Clark, and third place in the long jump (5.84 m / 19 ft 2 in). Back home in Boston, Connolly was welecomed enthusiastically, and was presented a gold watch by the citizens of South Boston. Gold medal winner Ethel Catherwood of Canada scissors over the bar at the 1928 Summer Olympics. ... Robert S. Garrett (born May 24, 1875 in Baltimore County, Maryland; died April 25, 1951) was an American athlete. ... Ellery Harding Clark (born March 13, 1874 in East Roxbury, Massachusetts; died February 17, 1949) was an American athlete. ... Officials watch as Salim Sdiri of France gives his all at the GE Money Grand Prix in Helsinki, July 2005. ...

Connolly would also visit the second edition of the modern Olympics, held in Paris. There, he failed to retain his title in the triple jump, losing to compatriot Meyer Prinstein. The 1900 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the II Olympiad, were held in 1900 in Paris, France. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Writer

The 1904 Summer Olympics were also attended by Connolly, but as a journalist, not as an athlete. Earlier, he had already published his accounts of the Spanish-American War in the Boston Globe as Letters from the front in Cuba. He served there in the Irish 9th Infantry of Massachusetts. The 1904 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the III Olympiad, were held in St. ... The Spanish-American War took place in 1898, and resulted in the United States of America gaining control over the former colonies of Spain in the Caribbean and Pacific. ... The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts and in the greater New England region. ...

Connolly became an authority on maritime writing, after spending years on many different vessels, fishing boats, military ships all over the world. In all, he published more than 200 short stories, and 25 novels. Furthermore, he twice ran for Congress of the United States on the ticket of the Progressive Party, but never was elected. DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Seal of the Congress. ... The term Progressive Party is used to describe several groups, both past and present, around the world. ...

He never returned to Harvard, but received an honorary athletic sweater in 1948. A year later, he was offered an honorary doctorate by Harvard University, which he turned down. Connolly died in New York at the age of 88. A collection of items related to Connolly, including his triple jump silver medal, is housed in the library of Colby College in Maine. State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... Colby College, founded in 1813, is one of the nations oldest independent liberal arts colleges. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ...

References

• Seaborne: Thirty years avoyaging, by James B. Connolly, 1944.
• The first Olympic champion, by Rusty Wilson, 2000. Appeared in the Journal of Olympic History, January 2000 [1]
• The unexpected Olympians - How Harvard dominated the first modern games - in spite of itself, by Jonathan Shaw, 1996. Appeared in Harvard Magazine, January 1996. [2]
• "The English as poor losers" and other thoughts on the modernization of sport. The literary works of James Brendan Connolly, by Ralph C. Wilcox, 1997. Appeared in The Sports Historian, May 1997. [3]

External links

• A statue of James B. Connolly in South Boston
• Connolly's silver medal
• Works by James Brendan Connolly at Project Gutenberg