James Brendan Connolly (1868 - 1957)

Born 28 Oct 1868 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Husband of Elizabeth F (Hurley) Connolly — married 28 Sep 1904 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Died 20 Jan 1957 at age 88 in Brookline, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

James Connolly is Notable.

James is an Olympic Gold Medalist

James Brendan Connolly was born on October 28, 1868 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Connolly and Ann O'Donnell.^[1][2][3]

James grew up in South Boston as one of 12 children of poor Irish immigrants. His father was a fisherman. He attended Notre Dame Academy, but never completed high school. He instead went to work as a clerk for an insurance company in Boston. James became dissatisfied with his career, and in order to gain acceptance in college, he taught himself the high school curriculum. In October of 1895, James was accepted to Harvard University. ^[4]

James set his sights on the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, for he was an experienced track and field athlete. He attempted to obtain a leave of absence from Harvard, but it was denied. He withdrew from Harvard, and spent 16.5 days on a ship to get to Athens for the Olympics. On the first day of competition, he won gold in the Triple Jump. He also finished 2nd in the High Jump and 3rd in the Long Jump. ^[5]

James returned to the next Summer Olympics held in 1900 in Paris, France to defend his title in the Triple Jump. He was beat by Meyer Prinstein and finished in 2nd place.^[5]

After the1900 Olympics, James returned to Boston and married Elizabeth Hurley on September 28, 1904. ^[6]

James also competed in the 1906 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He competed in the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, but did not place in the top eight in either event. ^[5][7]

James became a journalist and author, and wrote 25 novels and 200 short stories.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Massachusetts Births, 1841-1915", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FXZJ-8RH : 1 March 2016), James Connolly, 1868.
2. ↑ United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD3P-8WH : 17 October 2014), James Connelley in household of John Connelley, Massachusetts, United States; citing p. 700, family 5918, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,143.
3. ↑ United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHXL-4YZ : 19 February 2021), James Connolly in household of John Connolly, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district ED 675, sheet 360B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,556.
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brendan_Connolly
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Wallechinsky, David; Loucky, Jaime. The Complete Book of The Olympics 2012 Edition. Aurum Press, London, 2012
6. ↑ Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N4Z6-ZNY : 17 February 2016), James B Connolly and Elizabeth F Hurley, 28 Sep 1904; citing Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2,057,621.
7. ↑ http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/co/james-b-connolly-1.html

• United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M22Q-LRG : accessed 25 July 2021), James B Connolly, Boston Ward 20, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1574, sheet 30A, family 167, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 622; FHL microfilm 1,374,635.

• http://irishboston.blogspot.com/2011/04/boston-athletes-score-big-in-first.html

• http://www.irishcentral.com/news/south-boston-remembers-local-hero-james-brendan-connolly-during-the-olympics-165591816-237520711.html

• http://www.catholicauthors.com/connolly.html

• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=13268252