<Tr> <Th_colspan="3"> Olympic Games </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1908 London </Td> <Td> Medley relay </Td> </Tr> <P> John Baxter Taylor Jr . (November 3, 1882, Washington, D.C.--December 2, 1908, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American track and field athlete, notable as the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal . </P> <P> He was born in Washington D.C. to former slaves . The family settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he attended public schools and graduated from Central High School in 1902 . He spent a year at Brown Preparatory School, also in Philadelphia, where he was the fastest high school quarter - miler in the country . As a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, he was the ICAAAA (Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America) champion in the quarter mile . He bested his personal time in 1907, and again was the ICAAAA quarter mile champion . He graduated from Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine in 1908, and was a member of Sigma Pi Phi, the first black fraternity. (1) He was recruited by the Irish American Athletic Club in New York, and was its most prominent African American member . </P>

First african american to win an olympic gold medal