Jack Johnson and his first wife

Jack Johnson (1878-1946), American boxer and first African American heavyweight boxing champion, pictured with his first wife, Etta Terry Duryea, who he had married in January 1911. A Brooklyn socialite and former wife of businessman Charles Duryea, she met Johnson at a car race in 1909. Their romantic involvement was allegedly very turbulent. Beaten many times by Johnson and suffering from severe depression, she committed suicide in September 1912, shooting herself with a revolver. The Tatler reported on the story calling it a tragedy in black and white

Features In These Collections

> Contributors > COI