Edward Gourdin
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Competitor for the  United States
| ||
| Silver | 1924 Paris | Long jump |
Edward Orval "Ned" Gourdin (August 10, 1897 in Jacksonville, Florida – July 22, 1966 in Quincy, Massachusetts) was an American athlete and jurist. He was the first man in history to make 25 feet in the long jump [1] and the first African-American and the first Native-American (Seminole) to be appointed a Superior Court judge in New England.[2][3]
He won the silver medal in the Long Jump at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.[4]
Following his return from the Olympics, Gourdin was admitted to the bar. He left his law practice in 1935 to serve as assistant United States Attorney from Massachusetts. In 1951 he was appointed to the Roxbury District Court.[5] On July 22, 1958, he was appointed by governor Foster Furcolo to serve on the Massachusetts Superior Court, the Commonwealth's second highest court.[2][3] He remained on the court until his death on July 22, 1966.
Gourdin attended Harvard University, where he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[1] [6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dean, Amy (2002-02-12). "Edward Gourdin: Olympic silver medalist, but a man of firsts". B.U. Bridge (Boston, Massachusetts: Boston University). Retrieved 2008-10-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "A New Superior Court Justice". Christian Science Monitor. July 22, 1958.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Johnson, John H., ed. (August 7, 1958). Jet (Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.) 14 (14): 5
- ↑ "Olympic Medal Winners". olympic.org. Retrieved 2004-10-24.
- ↑ Harold L. Vaughn (August 2, 1966). "Thousands Attend Rites For Gourdin". Washington Afro-American. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ↑ Brown, Tamara L.; Gregory Parks, Clarenda M. Phillips (2005). African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision (1st ed.). Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 256. ISBN 0-8131-2344-5. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
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