John Armstrong Howard (1888 - 1937)

Born 6 Oct 1888 in Saint Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Edith Elizabeth (Lipscombe) Howard — married 16 Jun 1920 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Descendants

Died 9 Jan 1937 at age 48 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Canada Project WikiTree [send private message]

John Howard is managed by the Canada Project. Join: Canada Project Discuss: canada

Biography

John Howard is Notable.

John was born October 6, 1888 in St Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, the son of Robert Howard and Cornelia Armstrong. He is thought to have been Canada’s first black Olympian, competing from 1912-1915.^[1] He is the grandfather of Harry Jerome.

John immigrated to Canada with his father in 1907, and worked as a mechanic at the Crescent Creamery and played for their baseball team. He qualified for the Canadian track and field team at the 1912 Olympic Games in Sweden but, as Canada’s first black Olympian, faced discrimination from coaches and other athletes. Dropped from the team on charges of insubordination, he was reinstated at the last minute. Hindered by lung and other health issues, he was defeated in 100- and 200-meter sprints but, following his return to Canada, won several races at the 1913 Canadian Outdoor Championships.^[2]

He competed in the 1919 Inter-Allied Games held in Paris where he won the bronze medal in the 100 metres race.

He died at the age of 48 on January 9, 1937, in Winnipeg, Manitoba^[3], and was buried there in Brookside Cemetery. ^[4]

He was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (2004).

Sources

1. ↑ "Minnesota, Birth and Death Records, 1866-1916," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XPXF-XGZ : 23 February 2021), Howard, 06 Oct 1888; citing Saint Paul, Ramsey, MN, USA, p 65, Public Health Center, St. Paul; FHL microfilm 1,309,042.
2. ↑ Memorable Manitobans: John Armstrong “Army” Howard (1888-1936)
3. ↑ "Newspapers.com", The Winnipeg Tribune (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) Mon, Jan 11, 1937, page 13, Newspapers Clip: 79635678 (accessed 30 June 2023)
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #111546611

• Wikipedia:John_Howard_(athlete)

• Wikidata: Item Q6240026, en:Wikipedia

• "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M93N-GD4 : accessed 25 February 2021), John Howard in household of Robert Howard, Election District 3 St. Paul city Ward 8, Ramsey, Minnesota, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 125, sheet 14A, family 270, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,785.

• "Census of Canada, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV95-J4KY : 16 March 2018), John Howard in entry for Robert Howard, 1911; citing Census, Winnipeg Sub-Districts 30-74, Manitoba, Canada, Library and Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 2,417,672.

SEE ALSO:

• The Canadian Military Engineers Association - An Olympian Becomes a Sapper (2015)

• Black History Month: Army Howard, Canada’s first black Olympian