Who was James Naismith, in today’s Google Doodle?
On January 16, Google showcased a doodle to honor James Naismith and celebrate his legacy. James Naismith was a Canadian-American doctor, professor, coach, and physical educator who invented the game of Basketball.
Key Points
- James Naismith is credited with the invention of the Basketball game.
- Naismith was born in Ontario, Canada on 6th November 1861.
- He did a bachelor’s in physical education and earned a diploma from Presbyterian College in Montreal. After his education, Naismith taught physical education at McGill University in Montreal and also served as director of athletics.
- It was in the year 1890, James was asked to develop an indoor game to keep footballers active and good form in winters. At this time, he was teaching at the YMCA International Training College in Springfield.
- After this, James took elements from various games and finally invented the basketball game in the year 1891.
- The Basketball game had teams of nine players initially. In the starting, Basketball also had elements of outdoor games like soccer, American football, and field hockey.
- Basketball made its debut in Olympics in the year 1936 in Berlin, Germany.
- James threw the ball for the tip-off to commence the first game at the debut Olympics.
James died on 28th November 1939 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was also honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.