View source for Archie Williams

{{Short description|American sprinter and Tuskegee Airman (1916–1993)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
|name=
|nickname=
|image= Archie Williams 1936.jpg
|image_size     =
|caption = Archie Williams at the 1936 Olympics
|birth_name = Archie Franklin Williams 
|birth_date= May 1, 1915 
|birth_place= [[Oakland, California]], U.S.
|death_date = June 24, 1993 (aged 78)
|death_place = [[Fairfax, California]], U.S.
|height = {{convert|1.83|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|80|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
|sport = Athletics
|event = 200 m, 400 m
|club = [[California Golden Bears track and field|California Golden Bears]], Berkeley
|pb = 200 m – 21.4 (1936)<br>400 m – 46.1 (1936)<ref name=r1/><ref name=r4/> 
|alma_mater = [[University of California, Berkeley]] 
|show-medals = yes
|medaltemplates = 
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold  | [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin]] | [[Athletics at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres|400 m]]}}
}}
'''Archie Franklin Williams''' (May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993) was an American [[U.S. Air Force]] officer, [[athletics (sport)|athlete]], and teacher. He was the winner of the [[400 metres|400 meter]] run at the [[1936 Summer Olympics]].

==Biography==
Archie Williams was born in Oakland, California, to a family that was active in promoting Black civil rights.<ref>Morris, G. (1992) [http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt0v19n496&doc.view=entire_text ''The joy of flying: Olympic gold, air force colonel, and teacher'']. University of California Black Alumni Series. The Regents of the University of California.</ref> He attended [[University High School (Oakland, California)|University High School]] in [[Oakland]], then San Mateo Junior College (now [[College of San Mateo]]). His coach, Dr. [[Oliver Byrd]], was instrumental in preparing him for future achievements. Soon Williams transferred to the [[University of California, Berkeley]], to become a mechanical engineer and he continued to run track.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Olympic Pride, American Prejudice |author=Deborah Riley Draper |year=2016 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5068938/ |website=IMDb |access-date=30 December 2018}}</ref>

Until 1936, Williams had never broken 49 seconds for the 440 yd (402 m). During 1936, however, Williams kept lowering his times and reached his peak at the [[1936 NCAA Men's Track and Field Championships|NCAA championships]], setting a [[World record progression 400 metres men|world record]] in [[400 metres|400m]] of 46.1. His time was set in the preliminaries, and he also prevailed in the final for a 47.0 victory. He followed that up with a first in the [[1936 United States Olympic Trials (track and field)|Olympic Trials]], then went to [[Berlin]] and won the [[Olympic medal|Olympic gold medal]] in the 400m.  When asked about the infamous incident in which [[Adolf Hitler]] reportedly refused to shake the hand of black fellow gold medalist [[Jesse Owens]], Williams replied, "Hitler wouldn't shake my hand either."<ref>{{cite web |author1=CalBear81 |title=Cal's Gold Medal Runner Archie Williams: Hitler Wouldn't Shake His Hand Either |url=https://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2012/7/25/3136179/cals-gold-medal-runner-archie-williams-hitler-wouldnt-shake-his-hand |website=California Golden Blogs |access-date=30 December 2018 |language=en |date=Jul 25, 2012}}</ref>{{dubious|date=April 2025}} In 2016, the 1936 Olympic journey of the eighteen Black American athletes, including Williams, was documented in the film ''[[Olympic Pride, American Prejudice]]''.<ref name="Henderson 2016">{{cite web | last=Henderson | first=Odie | title=Olympic Pride, American Prejudice movie review (2016) | website=RogerEbert.com | date=2016-08-05 | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/olympic-pride-american-prejudice-2016 | access-date=2021-04-11}}</ref>

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in mechanical engineering, Williams was in the first Civilian Pilot Training class in 1939 at Oakland, California. After earning his private pilot's license, he earned his instructor rating and was later a civilian instructor at Tuskegee. Entering the service in late 1942, he was one of only 14 African-Americans who were commissioned during [[World War II]] in the aviation meteorological cadet program; he graduated from the UCLA program on 6 September 1943. By September 1944, he was in the first Service Pilot training class at Tuskegee and, after graduation, instructed flight cadets in instrument flying as well as teaching meteorology.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.ametsoc.org/news/a-meteorologist-who-changed-the-world/|title=A Meteorologist Who Changed the World|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015-02-06|website=The Front Page|publisher=American Meteorological Society|access-date=2021-05-09}}</ref> After the war, he earned qualification as a line pilot and then attended the [[Air Force Institute of Technology]] in 1948–1950 earning a B.S. in engineering sciences; he and fellow Tuskegee meteorologist Milton Hopkins were the 3rd and 4th black AF officers to attend this prestigious program. Williams remained a weather officer and rated pilot his entire career, earning his command pilot rating and commanding several weather detachments before retirement from the air force in 1964.

A serious leg injury at a meet in Sweden in 1936 ended his running career, but he became a commercial pilot.<ref name=r1/> During World War II, which Williams once whimsically referred to as his "return to the Olympics—in the Pacific," Williams was a pilot in the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] and retired from the military 22 years later as a lieutenant colonel. A flight instructor while in the air force, Williams remained in education following his military retirement and taught mathematics and computers in [[California]] high schools. 

Archie Williams was a teacher for 21 years until his retirement at age 72 in [[Archie Williams High School|Sir Francis Drake High School]] in [[San Anselmo, California|San Anselmo]]. He was noted for his love for teaching and helping students, including future author [[Konrad Dryden]]. 

Sir Francis Drake High School was renamed [[Archie Williams High School]] in 2021, after the [[George Floyd protests]] spurred a worldwide reexamination of [[List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests|place names]] and [[List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests|monuments]] connected to racism.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brenner|first=Keri|date=2021-05-07|title=Drake panel taps Archie Williams for new high school name|url=https://www.marinij.com/2021/05/07/drake-panel-taps-archie-williams-for-new-high-school-name/|url-status=live|work=Marin Independent Journal|location=San Rafael, CA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508224327/https://www.marinij.com/2021/05/07/drake-panel-taps-archie-williams-for-new-high-school-name|archive-date=2021-05-08|access-date=2021-05-09}}</ref>

Williams was a member of the [[Alpha Phi Alpha]] fraternity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sphinxmagazine.com/Articles/Alpha-and-the-Olympic-Games.aspx |title=Alpha Athletes at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany |publisher=Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity |access-date=January 10, 2010}}</ref> He died in [[Fairfax, California]] on June 24, 1993. He was 78 years old.<ref name=r1/>

== References ==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=r1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171659/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/wi/archie-williams-1.html Archie Williams]. sports-reference.com</ref>
<ref name=r4>[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=7229&Gender=M Archie Williams]. trackfield.brinkster.net</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Archie Williams}}
*[http://texts.cdlib.org/dynaxml/servlet/dynaXML?docId=kt0v19n496&doc.view=entire_text The Joy of Flying: Olympic Gold, Air Force Colonel, and Teacher – Archie F. Williams]
* {{USATF|new_id=archie-williams}}
* {{USATF Hall of Fame|id=183}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions 400 m Men}}
{{Footer USA Track & Field 1936 Summer Olympics}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Archie}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:American men sprinters]]
[[Category:California Golden Bears men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Oakland, California]]
[[Category:Tuskegee Airmen]]
[[Category:African-American schoolteachers]]
[[Category:Schoolteachers from California]]
[[Category:Air Force Institute of Technology alumni]]
[[Category:American commercial aviators]]
[[Category:20th-century American educators]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Air Force colonels]]
[[Category:NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners]]
[[Category:Educators from Oakland, California]]
[[Category:Alpha Phi Alpha members]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]