Alexander Grant (April 16, 1875 – October 13, 1946) was an American

track and field athlete Track and field is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of ...

who competed at the

1900 Summer Olympics The 1900 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1900, link=no), today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad () and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 1 ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was born in

St. Marys, Ontario St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the north branch of the Thames River and Trout Creek southwest of Stratford, and is surrounded by the Township of Perth South in Perth County, Ontario. St. ...

, Canada.

Biography

Grant competed in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

. He placed sixth or seventh in his first-round (semifinals) heat and did not advance to the final. He did not participate in the 4000 metre steeplechase. He graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1900. Grant then dominated American distance running, as the national champion in the 1500 meter race from 1901 to 1903, the 5000 meter event in 1903 and 1904, the 10000 meter event in 1902 as well as the 3000 meter steeplechase in 1900. His record time in the 1500 meter event went unbroken in the U.S. for twenty years and in the world for ten years. He then went on to become a teacher at the Berkley School in New York, Detroit University,

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and then from 1914 on, at Episcopal Academy. Grant, along with George Orton and Josiah MacCracken, founded Camp Tecumseh, an all-boys summer camp in Moultonboro, New Hampshire. The camp opened in 1903. Grant continued as director of Camp Tecumseh until his death in 1946. After Grant's death, Camp Tecumseh became a not-for-profit organization run by a Board of Trustees. In 2003, Camp Tecumseh celebrated its 100th birthday. The camp continues to be very successful, adhering to Grant's vision of "making good boys better." Grant died in Narbeth, PA. on October 13, 1946. He was the brother of Olympian

Dick Grant Richard Grant (August 3, 1870 – January 9, 1958) was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France for the United States. He also competed in the first four Boston Marathons, one of only two athle ...

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* * * 1875 births 1946 deaths American male middle-distance runners American male hurdlers American male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics The Hill School faculty Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Canadian emigrants to the United States Track and field athletes from Ontario People from St. Mary's, Ontario Penn Quakers men's track and field athletes {{US-middledistance-athletics-bio-stub