Joe Louis
13 May 1914 – 12 April 1981
Joe Louis was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1937 to 1949, the longest reign in the division's history, and made twenty-five successful title defences. Born in rural Alabama and raised in Detroit, he became one of the most prominent American sportsmen of his era, and his 1938 rematch with the German boxer Max Schmeling drew international attention. He served in the United States Army during the Second World War and returned to the ring afterwards.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Joe Louis.
- Alan Paton (1903–1988) Overlapped 67 years →
- Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002) Overlapped 67 years →
- Bette Davis (1908–1989) Overlapped 67 years →
- Bill Hewlett (1913–2001) Overlapped 67 years →
- Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) Overlapped 67 years →
- Cahit Arf (1910–1997) Overlapped 67 years →
Life events
He was born Joseph Louis Barrow, the seventh child of sharecropper parents.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe move was part of the Great Migration; he later took up boxing at a local recreation centre.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe won by first-round knockout after an amateur career that included the national AAU light heavyweight title.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe couple married hours before his bout with Max Baer at Yankee Stadium.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe stopped Braddock in the eighth round at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe won by knockout in the first round, reversing his 1936 loss to Schmeling in a bout followed worldwide.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe spent the war years in the Special Services Division, touring military camps in exhibition bouts.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe vacated the title after a reign of almost twelve years and twenty-five successful defences.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMarciano stopped him in the eighth round at Madison Square Garden, ending his comeback.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Source: en.wikipedia.org