Arthur Ashe (1943 - 1993)
Arthur Ashe
1943 - 1993
updated February 06, 2019
Arthur Ashe was born on July 10, 1943 at Richmond, Virginia. He died on February 6, 1993 at New York City, New York at 49 years old.
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles. Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man ever to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980. He was ranked World No. 1 by Harry Hopman in 1968 and by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph and World Tennis Magazine in 1975. In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in May 1976. In the early 1980s, Ashe is believed to have contracted HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery. Ashe publicly announced his illness in April 1992 and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia at age 49 on February 6, 1993.
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Arthur Ashe
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Arthur Ashe was born on at Richmond, in Virginia
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Arthur Ashe died on at New York City, in New York
Death
Arthur Ashe was born on at Richmond, in Virginia
Arthur Ashe died on at New York City, in New York
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Chronology: "Arthur Ashe in the Spotlight"
Aug. 1, 1963: Becomes the first black to be named to a United States Davis Cup team.
June 21, 1965: Leads U.C.L.A. to the N.C.A.A. tennis championship.
Aug. 25, 1968: Becomes the first black to win United States men's singles championships.
Sept. 9, 1968: Wins the first United States Open title.
Dec. 12, 1968: Is ranked No. 1 by the United States Lawn Tennis Association.
June 30, 1969: Is banned from South African championships.
Jan. 26, 1970: Becomes the first black to win the Australian Open.
Nov. 24, 1973: Becomes the first black to reach final of the South African Open.
1974-1979: President of the Association of Tennis Professionals.
July 5, 1975: Becomes the first black to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon.
Dec. 21, 1979: Undergoes quadruple bypass heart surgery.
April 16, 1980: Announces his retirement from competitive tennis.
Sept. 7, 1980: Named captain of the Davis Cup team. The United States wins championships under him in 1981 and 1982.
June 21, 1983: Undergoes double bypass heart surgery.
March 21, 1985: Named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1988: His three-voloume history "A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African Athlete" is published.
April 8, 1992: Announces he contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery. He said he tested positive for H.I.V. three and a half years earlier while hospitalized for a bacterial invection in his brain. (Source: The Associated Press)
Aug. 1, 1963: Becomes the first black to be named to a United States Davis Cup team.
June 21, 1965: Leads U.C.L.A. to the N.C.A.A. tennis championship.
Aug. 25, 1968: Becomes the first black to win United States men's singles championships.
Sept. 9, 1968: Wins the first United States Open title.
Dec. 12, 1968: Is ranked No. 1 by the United States Lawn Tennis Association.
June 30, 1969: Is banned from South African championships.
Jan. 26, 1970: Becomes the first black to win the Australian Open.
Nov. 24, 1973: Becomes the first black to reach final of the South African Open.
1974-1979: President of the Association of Tennis Professionals.
July 5, 1975: Becomes the first black to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon.
Dec. 21, 1979: Undergoes quadruple bypass heart surgery.
April 16, 1980: Announces his retirement from competitive tennis.
Sept. 7, 1980: Named captain of the Davis Cup team. The United States wins championships under him in 1981 and 1982.
June 21, 1983: Undergoes double bypass heart surgery.
March 21, 1985: Named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1988: His three-voloume history "A Hard Road to Glory: A History of the African Athlete" is published.
April 8, 1992: Announces he contracted the AIDS virus from a blood transfusion during heart bypass surgery. He said he tested positive for H.I.V. three and a half years earlier while hospitalized for a bacterial invection in his brain. (Source: The Associated Press)
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Average Age
Arthur Ashe lived
21 years shorter than
the average Ashe family member
when he died at the age of 49.
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Arthur Ashe Obituary
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February 8, 1993
OBITUARY
Arthur Ashe, Tennis Star, Is Dead at 49
By ROBIN FINN
Arthur Ashe, a tennis champion who spent his years in the sport fighting discrimination and then spent the final year of his life seeking to broaden public awareness on the subject of AIDS, died Saturday. He was 49.
A New York Hospital administrator, Judith Lilavois, said Ashe died at 3:13 P.M. of pneumonia.
Yesterday, Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said that Ashe's body would lie in state at the executive mansion in Richmond tomorrow from 5 to 9 P.M. Ashe's wife, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, said that her husband's funeral would be Wednesday at 1 P.M. at the Arthur Ashe Youth Center in Richmond, where he was born, and that he would be buried at Woodland Cemetery.
Ashe was the only black man to win Wimbledon and the United States and Australian Opens.
Militant in his convictions but mild in his manner, this slim, bookish and bespectacled athlete never thought himself a rebel and preferred information to insurrection.
Dedicated to Helping Others
Ashe served on the board of directors of Aetna Life & Casualty and the United States Tennis Association, as chairman of the National Heart Association in 1981-82, and had recently rejoined the Board of Trustees of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. He also held corporate posts with Head Sports USA and Le Coq Sportif USA.
A memorial service will be held in New York City on Friday. Details have not been completed.
Followers & Sources
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Amanda S. Stevenson
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1943 - 1993 World Events
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In 1943, in the year that Arthur Ashe was born, on September 3rd, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed in Sicily. Under the terms of the Armistice, Italy surrendered to the Allied Powers. After the Armistice was made public on September 8th, Germany attacked and occupied Italy. It took 20 months of fighting for the Allies to reach the northern borders of Italy.
In 1956, at the age of merely 13 years old, Arthur was alive when this was the year that the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, became an international sensation. He began the year as a regional favorite and ended the year with 17 recordings having been on the Billboard’s Top 100 singles chart, 11 TV appearances, and a movie. Elvis scandalized adults and thrilled teens.
In 1961, at the age of 18 years old, Arthur was alive when on January 20th, John F. Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States. He had previously been a U.S. Senator and a Congressman, both from the state of Massachusetts, as well as a Naval lieutenant in World War II.
In 1973, by the time he was 30 years old, in October, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned - President Nixon nominated Gerald Ford for Vice President. Nixon's tax returns came under investigation. Nixon offered the recently discovered Oval Office tapes be heard by one person and summarized - his offer was rejected by the Special Prosecutor. Nixon ordered the Attorney General, then the assistant Attorney General, to fire the Special Prosecutor. Both refused and were fired. The Solicitor General became the acting Attorney General and fired the Special Prosecutor (the Saturday Night Massacre). Nixon releases some of the tapes, under extreme pressure because of the firings.
In 1993, in the year of Arthur Ashe's passing, on January 20th, William J. Clinton became the 42nd President of the United States. He beat incumbent George H.W. Bush who was seeking his second term. Clinton won 43.01% of the popular vote to Bush's 37.45%. An independent candidate, Ross Perot, won 18.91% - the most votes for an independent candidate since Teddy Roosevelt's run for President in 1912.
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