Jesse Owens, originally known as J. C., was the youngest of ten children (three girls and seven boys) born to Henry Cleveland Owens [1881–1942] (a sharecropper) and Mary Emma Fitzgerald in Oakville, Alabama, on September 12, 1913.
Jesse Owens (Wikipedia)James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games.