Henry Armstrong

CTL-E-6877 · Person · other · 1912–1988

VERIFIED evidence grade — build store (JSON graph)

Combined Graph record U-07749 · provenance: build store (JSON graph), record CTL-E-6877.

Henry Armstrong (1912–1988), born Henry Jackson Jr. on December 12, 1912, in Columbus, Mississippi, was the American boxer known as “Homicide Hank” for his perpetual-motion, all-pressure style. According to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Armstrong is still the only fighter ever to hold world championships in three divisions — featherweight, lightweight and welterweight — simultaneously, winning the featherweight title from Petey Sarron in 1937, taking the welterweight crown from Barney Ross on May 31, 1938, and adding the lightweight title from Lou Ambers on August 17, 1938. Encyclopaedia Britannica likewise records that he held the three titles at the same time in 1938. The Hall of Fame notes that he later challenged for a fourth, middleweight, title in 1940 and drew with Ceferino Garcia. After overcoming alcoholism, Armstrong became an ordained Baptist minister; he died on October 24, 1988, in Los Angeles, per the Dictionary of American Biography account hosted by Encyclopedia.com.

The record

• Also known as: Henry Jackson Jr., Homicide Hank, Hurricane Henry, Melody Jackson

Notes

Sports Encyclopedia roster CTL-SPE-0446. Firsts disposition: 'Held three world titles simultaneously (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, 1938)' ASSERTED — supported by the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Curator's Judgment (DRAFT): Armstrong's triple crown, won inside ten months in an era that soon banned holding titles in more than one division at once, remains the cleanest single-season claim to pound-for-pound greatness in the record. His St. Louis upbringing in the Great Migration also makes him a bridge figure between Southern birth and Northern ring capitals. Photo: CLEARED — Henry Armstrong 1941.jpg, Public domain.

Sources

• International Boxing Hall of Fame. “Henry Armstrong.” International Boxing Hall of Fame. Accessed 2026-11-03. http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/armstrong.html (primary source · build store)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Henry Armstrong.” Britannica Kids / Students. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Henry-Armstrong/316553 (build store)
• Borden, Timothy. “Armstrong, Henry Jackson, Jr.” Dictionary of American Biography, hosted by Encyclopedia.com. Accessed 2026-11-03. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/armstrong-henry-jackson-jr (build store)

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Record CTL-E-6877 · Combined Graph record U-07749 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 3 sources.
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