Henry Louis Aaron (1934 - 2021)

Born 5 Feb 1934 in Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Died 22 Jan 2021 at age 86 in Atlanta, DeKalb, Georgia, United States

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Biography

Hank Aaron is Notable.

Hank Aaron was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Hank Aaron was awarded the Spingarn Medal for outstanding achievement by an African American.

Henry Louis Aaron, nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank," was an American Major League baseball right fielder, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history. He played 21 seasons for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves in the National League and two seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers in the American League, from 1954 through 1976. In 1982 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.^[1]

MLB Statistics:
Runs batted in: 2,297	Hits: 3,771	Home runs: 755	Batting average: .305

He was born in Mobile, Alabama on February 5, 1934, to Herbert Aaron and Estella Pritchett. He had seven siblings. In the 1940 census Henry (age 6) was listed with his family in Mobile, Alabama, USA.^[2] His younger brother, Tommie Aaron, also went on to play major league baseball. By the time Aaron retired, he and his brother held the record for most career home runs by a pair of siblings (768). They were also the first siblings to appear in a league championship series as teammates.^[1]

Henry married Barbara Jean Lucas in 1953 in Duval, Florida, United States.^[3]
They had five children:

1. Gary Aaron
2. Lary Aaron
3. Dorinda Aaron
4. Gaie Aaron
5. Hank Aaron, Jr.

He married Billye Suber Williams on November 13, 1973.^[1]
They had one child:

1. Ceci Aaron

Near the end of his baseball career, as Aaron was approaching breaking Babe Ruth's home run record, he and his family endured racist hate mail and death threats that he said forever changed how he looked at the world.^[4]

After his retirement from playing, Aaron held front office roles with the Atlanta Braves, one of the first minorities in Major League Baseball upper-level management. Among the hundreds of awards he received in recognition of his accomplishments, service, and philanthropy, these are a few of the standouts: on 01 Apr 1974, he was commissioned an Hon. Admiral in the Alabama State Naval Militia by Gov. George C. Wallace;^[5] in 1976, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP; in 1982, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility; in 1999, Major League Baseball introduced the Hank Aaron Award to recognize the top offensive players in each league; he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002; he was named a 2010 Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical Society in recognition of accomplishments that reflect the ideals of Georgia's founders; in January 2016, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette from Akihito, the Emperor of Japan.^[1]

Henry Aaron was 86 years old when he died in his sleep of natural causes at home in Atlanta on 22 January 2021.^[1] He is buried in the South View Cemetery in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, USA.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Wikipedia contributors, "Hank Aaron," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hank_Aaron&oldid=1072012549 (accessed February 17, 2022).
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V1PJ-LF1 : 5 January 2021), Henry Aron in household of Herbert Aron, Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 49-78A, sheet 12B, line 41, family 228, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 64. FamilySearch Image
   

   Name	Relation	Status	Sex	Age	Birth Place
   Herbert Aron	Head	Married	M	31	Alabama
   Steller Aron	Wife	Married	F	23	Alabama
   Sara Aron	Daughter	Single	F	13	Alabama
   Herbert Aron	Son	Single	M	8	Alabama
   Henry Aron	Son	Single	M	6	Alabama
   Gloria Aron	Daughter	Single	F	3	Alabama
   Tommie Aron	Son	Single	M	0	Alabama

3. ↑ "Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001"
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8784 #1663165 (accessed 3 February 2022)
   Henry Lewis Aaron, marriage to Barbara Jean Lucas in 1953 in Duval, Florida, USA.
4. ↑ Hemal Jhaveri, (January 22, 2021), "Hank Aaron's searing words on the racism he faced should never be forgotten", "For the Win," USA Today Sports, Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
5. ↑ "Murrell's 2 homers help Atlanta top Birds, 3-2." Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 03 Apr 1974: 28.
6. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 2 Nov 2021), memorial page for Henry “Hank” Aaron (5 Feb 1934–22 Jan 2021), Find A Grave: Memorial #221485980, citing South View Cemetery, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, USA. The memorial page was created by Paxton Stewart on 22 Jan 2021 and is currently maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• Chung, Gabrielle. Baseball Legend Hank Aaron's Cause of Death Revealed. People Magazine Online, January 25, 2021, 08:16 PM.
• Wikidata: Item Q215777, en:Wikipedia
• National Baseball Hall of Fame, Hank Aaron.
• Full resource of every card appearance, lots of stats, commentary, etc. can be found on his individual page of the trading card database.