Joseph Thornton (August 2, 1916 – February 4, 2019) was a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Archer. Thornton was the Oklahoma State Archery Champion in 1960. After finishing fourth in the 1961 USA Archery Trials, his club raised money to send him to the World Championship in Oslo, Norway. That same year, he became World Champion by over 100 points, setting three world records. Not only did he win the World Championship, but he was also a member of the gold winning men's team. He earned individual silver medals in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

at the World Championship. During those two years, he also earned team gold with the Men's USA team. He was also the 1962 British International Trials Champion, the 1967 USA Team Gold World Tournament title holder, the 1970 USA National Champion, and a 1971 USA Team Gold World Champion. Thornton was inducted into the

American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame Haskell Indian Nations University is a public tribal land-grant university in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1884 as a residential boarding school for Native American children, the school has developed into a university operated b ...

in 1978. In 2016 the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

established the Joe Thornton Archery Range in Park Hill, Oklahoma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Joe 1916 births 2019 deaths American male archers World Archery Championships medalists Cherokee Nation sportspeople People from Stilwell, Oklahoma 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans