Alice Coachman Davis
Alice Coachman Davis was the first ever black woman to win gold in the Olympic games. She mastered the high jump in the 1948 London Games, and King George VI bestowed upon her the coveted medal. In celebrating the historic moment, “She was invited aboard a British Royal yacht, she was congratulated by President Harry S. Truman at the White House, and Count Basie gave a party for her. She was lauded in a motorcade that wound its way through Georgia from Atlanta to her hometown, Albany,” according to NYTimes.com. Alice Coachman Davis died in Albany, Georgia on July 14, 2014. She was 90 years old.