John Baxter Taylor Jr. Remembered as First Black Olympic Gold Medalist

John Baxter Taylor Jr., who had won a gold medal as part of the U.S. 4x400 relay team at the 1908 London Olympics before dying of typhoid fever, was commemorated in the 1910s as the first Black American Olympic gold medalist. His achievement inspired Black track athletes including Howard Drew, who competed in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and was considered the world's fastest human.