Cornelius Cooper "Corny" Johnson (August 28, 1913 – February 15, 1946) was an American athlete in the

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. Born in Los Angeles in 1913, Johnson first competed in organized

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

events at Berendo Junior High School. He achieved greater athletic success as a student at Los Angeles High School, competing in the sprint and in the

. Before going to the Olympics as a junior, he won the CIF California State Meet in 1932. He had been second the year before. In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Johnson, was documented in the film '' Olympic Pride, American Prejudice''.

Track and field

At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932, Johnson, who was then an 18-year-old high school student, placed fourth in the high jump under the existing tiebreaker rules. Had the current rules been in force, he would have won the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. He won the high jump at the State Meet in 1932 and 1933. During 1934-? Johnson attended Compton College and with coach Herschel Smith continued his high jump career. His technique was described as a panther-like western roll. At the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials, Johnson set the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

at . After the bar was remeasured and everybody celebrated, Dave Albritton equalled Johnson's record. In

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Johnson was one of 19

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s at the

Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

, where he won the

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. Johnson's winning height of 2.03m was an

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

and he tried unsuccessfully for the

. Johnson was the co-holder of the outdoor world record for the high jump for the year

- 37 and won eight career U.S. titles (five outdoor, three indoor). After retiring from the high jump, he became a letter carrier for the

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal serv ...

in Los Angeles, and in 1945 he joined the U.S. Merchant Marine. Johnson is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity. In 1946, while working as a ship's baker on board the Grace Line's "Santa Cruz," Johnson developed

bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the Bronchus, bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 ...

. En route from the ship to a California hospital, Corny Johnson died, aged 32. Cornelius Johnson was inducted into the

USA Track and Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is a United States national Sport governing body, governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was kn ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1994, and the California Community Colleges Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1998.

Championships

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Cornelius 1913 births 1946 deaths American male high jumpers African-American track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sailors World record setters in athletics (track and field) Track and field athletes from Los Angeles Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Deaths from pneumonia in California Deaths from bronchopneumonia 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen