About Tom Longboat
Thomas Charles Longboat was an Onondaga distance runner from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario and, for much of his career, the dominant long-distance runner. He was known as the "bulldog of Britannia" and was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. Longboat won this race, turned professional, and in 1909 at the same venue won the title of Professional Champion of the World by defeating Dorando Pietri and Alfred Shrubb in front of sell-out crowds. His first important victory was in the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1906, which he won by three minutes. In 1907 he won the Boston Marathon in a record time of 2:24:24 over the old 24+1⁄2-mile (39.4 km) course, four minutes and 59 seconds faster than any of the previous ten winners of the event.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.