Jack Johnson

Biography

Jack Johnson
1878-1946
Born under the name John Arthur Johnson, he was born in Galveston Texas.
He began his boxing career in 1987, standing 6ft 1in at 192lbs. He beat defending champion Tommy Burns for the World Heavyweight title in 1908, becoming the first black man to be the first world heavy weight champion.

In 1912, he was arrested for violation of the Mann Act, a law preventing black men from travelling with white women. He was charged with taking his girlfriend Lucille Cameron across state lines. They eventually married a year later, however, he was sentenced to federal prison for one year.

He went to the Leavenworth federal prison in Kansas. While in prison, he had a need to make something that could be used to fasten loosened objects. He eventually made this device, and on April 18th 1922, he did just that, and had a patent for the first wrench.

He later died in 1946 in an automobile accident in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was inducted into the boxing hall of fame in 1954.