Althea Gibson was an American athlete and Hall of Fame tennis champion. She was the first African-American to compete in the U.S. tennis championships, in 1950, after winning a series of titles in the all-black American Tennis Association. She was also the first black to compete in Wimbledon in 1951. Ms. Gibson went on to become the first black woman to win a major tennis crown by winning the French Championship in 1956. The following year, she became the first black to win the Wimbledon women's singles title, and the first African-American to win the U.S. Nationals at Forest Hills, New York. She successfully defended both her Wimbledon and U.S. titles in 1958. In 1957, Gibson became the first African-American to be named Associated Press female athlete of the year. She was honored with the award again in 1958.

She won a total of 56 tournaments, including 11 Grand Slam events, five of which were Grand Slam singles titles, six were doubles. Her doubles titles included wins at the French, Wimbledon, United States and Australian championships.

Following her tennis career, she became the first African-American to play in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). In later years, Althea served as state commissioner of athletics in New Jersey (1975-85), then served on the state athletics control board until 1988, and the governor's council on physical fitness until 1992.

Her autobiography, I Always Wanted to be Somebody, was published in 1958.

October 17th, 1965, Gibson married William Darben. They had no children and divorced in August of 1976. Her second marriage was to her former tennis coach, Sydney Llewellyn, and took place April 11th, 1983, but lasted less than 3 years, and also produced no children. After her second divorce, she rekindled her friendship with her first husband, and they remained close until his death.

Date, time and place of birth: August 25, 1927, at 9:00 a.m.*, Silver, South Carolina, U.S.A.

Date, place and cause of death: September 28, 2003, East Orange General Hospital, East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Parents
Father: Daniel Gibson
Mother: Annie Bell (Washington) Gibson

Burial site: Rosedale Cemetery, 367 Washington Street, Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Note that some sources report Gibson was buried in Montclair, New Jersey. This is due to the fact that Rosedale Cemetery covers a large area which straddles the borders of Montclair, Orange, and West Orange, New Jersey.

* Source: Birth certificate

Be aware, some sources erroneously report Althea was born in "New York City in 1928." While Ms. Gibson was certainly raised in Harlem, New York, she was not born there, nor was she born in 1928.

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