Birthday profile

Emmit King

Emmit King, American sprinter (died 2021)

Born
March 24, 1959
Died
November 28, 2021
Zodiac sign
Aries
Birth year
1959

About Emmit King

Emmit King (March 24, 1959 – November 28, 2021) was an American track and field sprinter, who twice was a member of the American Relay Team for the Summer Olympics (1984 and 1988) but he did not compete. He is best known for winning the bronze medal at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in the men's 100 metres. At the same championships, he was part of the team that won gold in the 4 × 100 m relay for the United States, and in doing so set a new world record of 37.86 s. He set his personal best (10.04) in the 100 metres on June 17, 1988, at the 1988 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Tampa, Florida. While at the University of Alabama, King became the 1983 NCAA 100 meters National Champion (10.15 seconds). King was also twice national champion at the short sprint indoors: in 1984 at 60 yards and in 1988 at 55 metres. In 1986, he became a member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity through the Theta Delta chapter at the university. King was also a graduate of Hueytown High School in Alabama. In 1986 he married fellow Olympian Lillie Leatherwood. King was killed in a shooting after a dispute on November 28, 2021, in Bessemer, Alabama. He was 62.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Emmit King timeline

  1. While at the University of Alabama, King became the 1983 NCAA 100 meters National Champion (10.15 seconds).
  2. He is best known for winning the bronze medal at the inaugural 1983 World Championships in the men's 100 metres.
  3. He set his personal best (10.04) in the 100 metres on June 17, 1988, at the 1988 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Tampa, Florida.

The world when Emmit King was born

Emmit King was born in 1959. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1959

  • #1 song"Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
  • Top movieBen-Hur
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookGoldfinger – Ian Fleming

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentIngemar Johansson knocks out Floyd Patterson for heavyweight title
  • Top headlineAlaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th US states
  • Technology milestoneMicrochip (integrated circuit) invented
  • Defining fadBarbie dolls
  • Notable inventionBarbie doll
  • World population2.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championLos Angeles Dodgers (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population177.1M

1959 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Emmit King's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19592026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,400$435,000
Average income$7,000$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.69$11.95
Postage stamp$0.04$0.73
Population177.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Olympedia, World Athletics, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.