Cornelius Cooper Johnson (1913 - 1946)

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Biography

Cornelius Johnson was an American track and field athlete. He won the gold medal in the high jump in the 1936 Olympics.^[1]

Cornelius represented the United States in the high jump in 1932 & 1936, winning gold in 1936.

Cornelius Cooper Johnson^[2] was born on 21 Aug 1913 in Los Angeles, California. He was the son of Shadrick C Johnson and Pearl L Cooper.^[3] He grew up in Los Angeles,^[4][5] where he was an athletic star at Los Angeles High School.^[6][7]

While still a senior in high school, Cornelius competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics in the high jump. He tied for first, but in the jump-off came in fourth place, so he did not medal. He again competed in the high jump in the 1936 Olympics and won the gold medal.^[8]

Cornelius later worked as a mail carrier for several years before working in the merchant marines. In 1946, he was working as a baker on the USS Santa Cruz for the Grace Line when he died. The coroner's inquest ruled that his death was due to pneumonia. He was pronounced dead on 15 Feb 1946 when taken to the Harbor Emergency Hospital in San Francisco, California, where the boat was moored.^[7][9] He is buried in Angelus Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia: Cornelius Johnson (athlete)
2. ↑ "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947," database with images, Ancestry Record 2238 #18938287 : accessed 11 October 2023), Cornelius Cooper Johnson, born 21 Aug 1913 in Los Angeles, Cal, registered 16 Oct 1940 in Los Angeles, California, Local Board 231; citing National Archives at St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947, Record Group Records of the Selective Service System, 147, Box 902.
3. ↑ California, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles City, Birth Certificates, #5387, Cornelius Johnson, 21 Aug 1913; "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPHP-PDKR : accessed 11 Oct 2023).
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1920," ED 181, Los Angeles precinct 429, Los Angeles County, California, USA; sheet 5A, family 129, Cornelius Johnson in Shaderick C Johnson household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHQJ-XHG.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," ED 19-205, Los Angeles Assembly District 59, Los Angeles County, California, USA; sheet 3A-3B, family 65, Cornelius C Johnson in Shadrick C Johnson household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCVZ-M3Z.
6. ↑ Negro Who's Who in California, 1948 edition, page 130 "Cornelius Cooper Johnson;" "California, U.S., African American Who's Who, 1948," database with images, Ancestry, Ancestry Record 2321 #382.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "Johnson, Former Star Athlete, Dies On Ship," The Los Angeles Times [California], 17 Feb 1946, part II, page 5, columns 7-8; image copy, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-cornelius-johnson/133292131/ : accessed 11 Oct 2023).
8. ↑ "Cornelius Cooper Johnson," Olympics https://olympics.com/en/athletes/cornelius-cooper-johnson : accessed 11 Oct 2023).
9. ↑ California, City and County of San Francisco, Coroner's Register, page 383-384, record of death of Cornelius Johnson, 15 Feb 1946; "California, San Francisco County Records, 1824-1997", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKD4-PQBX : accessed 11 Oct 2023).
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19330941/cornelius-cooper-johnson: accessed 11 October 2023), memorial page for Cornelius Cooper “Corny” Johnson (28 Aug 1913–15 Feb 1946), Find A Grave: Memorial #19330941, citing Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

• "United States Census, 1940," ED 60-832, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA; sheet 15B, family 468, Cornelius Johnson in Sedric C Johnson household; FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9CK-4GV.

• See also:

• African American Athletes - 1936 Summer Olympics