John L. Sullivan

John Lawrence Sullivan, known simply as John L. among his admirers, and dubbed the "Boston Strong Boy" by the press, was an American boxer. He is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, de facto reigning from February 7, 1882, to September 7, 1892. He is also generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring Rules, being a cultural icon of the late 19th century America, arguably the first boxing superstar and one of the world's highest-paid athletes of his era. Newspapers' coverage of his career, with the latest accounts of his championship fights often appearing in the headlines, and as cover stories, gave birth to sports journalism in the United States and set the pattern internationally for covering boxing events in media, and photodocumenting the prizefights.

15 October 1858

Born on the same birth day (15 October): Christian, Crown Prince of Denmark • Dave Stead • Don Stevenson • Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg • Linda Lavin • Malcolm Ross (balloonist) • Melki Sedek Huang • Moshe Sharett • Neophyte of Bulgaria • Peter Doherty (immunologist) • Stanley Menzo • Vyacheslav Butusov

Born in the same month (October 1858): Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein • Dionysius of Vattasseril • Elliott Lewis (politician) • George Albert Boulenger • Léon Serpollet • Maurice Prendergast • Mihajlo Pupin • Saitō Makoto • Take Ionescu • Theodore Roosevelt