James Naismith

Canadian-American coach; inventor of basketball
Person human Q188962
James Naismith
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James Naismith was born on November 6, 1861, in Almonte [1][2][3][4]. He died on November 28, 1939, in Lawrence [1][2][3]. He held dual citizenship in both Canada and the United States .

Naismith worked as an inventor, basketball coach, writer, cleric, physician, and head coach [5][6]. He received his education from McGill University, Springfield College, and Almonte and District High School .

He was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, the FIBA Hall of Fame, and the Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame [7][8]. He was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery [3].

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Memorial Park Cemetery[11]
  • Country of citizenship: Canada[12], United States[13]
  • Occupation: head coach[14], basketball player[15]
  • Employer: McGill University[16], University of Kansas[17]
  • Educated at: McGill University[18], Springfield College[19], Almonte and District High School[20]
  • Award received: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame[21], Ontario Sports Hall of Fame[22], FIBA Hall of Fame[23], Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame[24]
  • Religion or worldview: Catholicism[25]
  • Sex or gender: male[26]
  • League or competition: NCAA Division I men's basketball[27]
  • Commons category: James Naismith[28]
  • Sport: basketball[29]
  • Family name: Naismith[30]
  • Given name: James[31]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: English[32]
  • Country for sport: Canada[33]
  • Name in native language: James Naismith[34]
  • Height: 179 cm[35]
  • Coach of sports team: Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball[36]
  • Writing language: English[37]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for James Naismith include Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame[38], a basketball hall of fame[39], in United States[40], founded in 1959[41], headquartered in Springfield[42]; Naismith College Player of the Year[43], a sports award[44], in United States[45], founded in 1969[46]; and Naismith Trophy[47], an award[48], founded in 1967[49].

Why It Matters

James Naismith has Wikipedia articles in 26 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[50] He is known by 32 alternative names across languages and contexts.[51]

He is credited with the discovery of basketball[52], a type of sport[53], founded in 1891[54]. Entities named for him include Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame[38], a basketball hall of fame[39], in United States[40], founded in 1959[41], headquartered in Springfield[42]; Naismith College Player of the Year[43], a sports award[44], in United States[45], founded in 1969[46]; and Naismith Trophy[47], an award[48], founded in 1967[49].

FAQs

Where was James Naismith born?

James Naismith was born in Almonte[2].

Where did James Naismith die?

James Naismith died in Lawrence[4].

What did James Naismith do for work?

James Naismith worked as an inventor[5], basketball coach[6], writer[7], cleric[8], and physician[9].

Where did James Naismith go to school?

James Naismith was educated at McGill University[18], Springfield College[19], and Almonte and District High School[20].

What awards did James Naismith receive?

Honors received include Canada's Sports Hall of Fame[21], Ontario Sports Hall of Fame[22], FIBA Hall of Fame[23], and Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame[24].

What did James Naismith discover?

James Naismith is credited as discoverer of basketball[52].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [6] ↑ . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [9] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  14. [14] ↑ . NCAA Statistics. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [15] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  16. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [27] ↑ . Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [11] ↑ . Find a Grave. wikidata.org.
  20. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [23] ↑ . fiba.basketball. Retrieved . fiba.basketball. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  24. [24] ↑ . Ontario Basketball Hall of Fame. wikidata.org.
  25. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [1] ↑ . Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  27. [3] ↑ . Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  28. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [30] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  30. [31] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  31. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [34] ↑ . Integrated Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  34. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [36] ↑ . Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  36. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [53] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [54] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [39] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [40] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [41] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  6. [42] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  7. [44] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  8. [45] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  9. [46] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  10. [48] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  11. [49] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [50] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [51] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

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APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). James Naismith. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/james-naismith
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 19d ago · Eskivor · 2026-10-01 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'ast', 'az', 'ban', 'be', 'bg', 'bs', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'da',
    Sitelink count → 59
    Plaque image → —
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbremoveclaims-remove:1| */ Plaque image: Naismith statue, Almonte.jpg"
  2. 8w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Babelnet id → 00047945n
    Arabic ontology lexical concept id → 151060879
    Date of death → +1939-11-28T00:00:00Z
    "/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||4 */ added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
  3. 23w ago · ~2026-28259-23 · 2026-05-10 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Employer → McGill University, University of Kansas
    Family name → Naismith
    Place of death → Lawrence
    Citizenship → —
    + 27 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Date of death: 28 November 2027"
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