Archie Williams facts for kids

Archie Williams at the 1936 Olympics
Quick facts for kids Personal information
Born	May 1, 1915 Oakland, California, United States
Died	June 24, 1993 (aged 78) Fairfax, California, United States
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	80 kg (176 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	200 m, 400 m
Club	California Golden Bears, Berkeley
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	200 m – 21.4 (1936) 400 m – 46.1 (1936)
Medal record Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 1936 Berlin 400 m

Archie Franklin Williams (May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993) was an amazing American athlete, a brave U.S. Air Force officer, and a dedicated teacher. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 400-meter race at the 1936 Summer Olympics. His birth certificate shows his name was Archie, not Archibald.

Archie Williams: Olympic Champion and Teacher

Archie Williams went to University High School in Oakland, California. Later, he attended San Mateo Junior College, which is now called College of San Mateo. His coach, Dr. Oliver Byrd, was very important in helping him get ready for his future successes.

Archie then moved to the University of California, Berkeley. He studied to become a mechanical engineer and kept running track.

Setting a World Record

Before 1936, Archie had never run the 440-yard race (about 402 meters) faster than 49 seconds. But in 1936, he started getting much faster. He reached his best performance at the NCAA championships. There, he set a new world record for the 400 meters with a time of 46.1 seconds. He set this record in the early races and then won the final with a time of 47.0 seconds.

After that, he won the Olympic Trials. Then he traveled to Berlin, Germany, for the Olympics.

Olympic Gold in Berlin

At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Archie Williams won the gold medal in the 400-meter race. The 1936 Olympics were famous because of Adolf Hitler, who was the leader of Germany. Hitler believed that some races were better than others.

When asked if Hitler shook his hand, Archie Williams said, "Hitler wouldn't shake my hand either." This was similar to what happened with another Black American gold medalist, Jesse Owens.

In 2016, a film called Olympic Pride, American Prejudice told the story of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Archie, who competed in the 1936 Olympics.

Life After the Olympics

After getting his mechanical engineering degree from UC Berkeley, Archie Williams joined the first Civilian Pilot Training class in 1939. He earned his private pilot's license and then became an instructor. He even taught at Tuskegee, a famous training center.

In late 1942, he joined the military. He was one of only 14 African Americans who became officers in the aviation weather program during World War II. He graduated from the UCLA program in 1943. By 1944, he was in the first Service Pilot training class at Tuskegee. After graduating, he taught flight cadets how to fly using instruments and also taught about weather.

After the war, he became a qualified pilot. He then went to the Air Force Institute of Technology from 1948 to 1950. He earned another degree in engineering sciences. He and another Tuskegee weather officer, Milton Hopkins, were among the first Black Air Force officers to attend this important program.

Archie Williams remained a weather officer and a skilled pilot throughout his career. He commanded several weather units before retiring from the Air Force in 1964 as a lieutenant colonel.

A Career in Teaching

A serious leg injury in Sweden in 1936 ended Archie's running career. But he became a commercial pilot. During World War II, he was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He jokingly called this his "return to the Olympics—in the Pacific."

After retiring from the military, Archie Williams continued to work in education. He taught mathematics and computers in high schools in California. He taught for 21 years until he retired at age 72 from Sir Francis Drake High School in San Anselmo, California.

Archie was known for loving to teach and help his students. One of his students later became a famous author, Konrad Dryden.

In 2021, Sir Francis Drake High School was renamed Archie Williams High School. This change happened after many discussions around the world about place names and monuments connected to racism. The community chose to honor Archie Williams because of his amazing life and contributions.

Archie Williams was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He passed away in Fairfax, California, when he was 78 years old.

He once shared his thoughts about his Olympic experience: "When I came home, somebody asked me, 'How did those dirty Nazis treat you?' I replied that I didn't see any dirty Nazis, just a lot of nice German people. And I didn't have to ride in the back of the bus over there." This showed how he felt about the differences in how he was treated in Germany compared to the racial segregation he faced at home in the U.S.

See also

In Spanish: Archie Williams para niños