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Althea Gibson born August 25, 1927 – September 28, 2003 was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. Born at 9:00 am EDT on August 25, 1927 in Silver, Clarendon County, South Carolina to Daniel and Annie Bell Gibson, Althea had two siblings, a brother, Daniel Jr. (known as “Bubba”), and a sister, Mildred.

Gibson continued to improve her tennis game while pursuing an education. In 1946 she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, to work on her tennis game with Dr. Hubert A. Eaton and enrolled at Williston High School.

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On September 28, 2003, at the age of 76, Gibson died in East Orange, New Jersey due to circulatory failure and was interred there in the Rosedale Cemetery. Gibson became the first African American woman to join the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour, in 1964.Her best finish on the tour was a tie for second after a three-way playoff at the 1970 Len Immke Buick Open.Gibson retired from professional golf at the end of the 1978 season.

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