Ow‧ens, Jes‧se /ˈəʊənz, ˈəʊɪnz, ˈdʒesi/
(1913–80) a very successful African-American athlete, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Hitler is said to have been very angry about this, because it disproved the Nazi idea that the ‘Aryans’ (=white people from Northern Europe) were better than people of other races. Hitler refused to attend the ceremonies at which Owens was given his gold medals.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲