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Born August 25, 1927, in Silver, SC
Died September 28, 2003, in East Orange, NJ
Althea Gibson was the first Black American to play tennis in the Grand Slam tournaments at the U.S. Open (1950) and Wimbledon (1951). At the French Championships in 1956, she became the first Black American to win a Grand Slam event. The following year, she was the first Black tennis player to win the Wimbledon championship. Gibson became the first Black woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour in 1964. She was appointed special consultant to the New Jersey Governor’s Council of Physical Fitness in Sports in 1988.