James Naismith By ihes55 1861 James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861 in Ontario Canada 1870 In 1870 (when he was 9), his parents died of typhoid fever, so he went to live with his uncle Ben on a farm 1891 He invented basketball in 1891 1891 in 1891 he designed the first football helmet 1894 He married Maude Evelyn Sherman in 1894, in Springfield, Massachusetts 1898 He moved to Denver in 1898 to get his medical degree 1904 Basketball was so popular it was promoted as a game in the 1904 Olympics in, St.Louis Missouri. 1925 He became a American citizen in 1925 1936 By 1936, basketball was an actual game in the Olympics in Berlin. 1937 In 1937, after he quit the job at the University Of Kansas, he helped create the National Association Of Intercollegiate Basketball 1938 He lived long enough to see his game in the Olympics, the National Invitation Tournament in 1938. 1939 He died on November 28, 1939 in Laurence, Kansas at the age of 78 1939 He also lived to see the NCAA Tournament in 1939.
