This Day in History: 0000-08-02
August 1, 1952- “Major Sammy Lee Wins Olympic Gold” “Major Sammy Lee, a 31-year-old Korean American doctory in the U.S. Army, became the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal for the 10-meter high dive. Prior to that, he served in two wars. He was nicknamed the The Oriental from Occidental, a nod to his time as a student-athlete at Occidental College. Later in life, he coached Greg Louganis, who went on to win several diving gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.”
November 5, 1996 - "Gary Locke Elected to Washington State Governorship"
Gary Locke became the first Asian American elected governor of a mainland state when he won the governorship by a wide margin. Locke's success in raising the state's educational standards and balancing its budget led to a landslide victory for a second term in 2000. He decided not to run for a third term because he wanted to spend more time with his two young children, but was chosen to deliver the Democratic rebuttal to President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address in 2004.