James Brendan Connolly was born on October 28, 1868, in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, John and Ann (O'Donnell), immigrated to Boston from the Aran Islands in the late 1850s.

After completing grade school, Connolly worked as a clerk for a Boston insurance firm before joining the Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia. Largely self-educated, he eventually passed the entrance exam for Harvard University but withdrew in March 1896 to participate in the first Olympic Games in Greece. Connolly received a gold medal in the triple jump, making him the first American to win an Olympic medal in the modern games.

Connolly served in the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry during the Spanish American War and was present at the Siege of Santiago. Connolly sent home his accounts of the experience to the Boston Globe, which published them as Letters from the Front in Cuba. He later attended the 1904 Summer Olympics as a correspondent and covered the First World War for publications such as Harper's and Collier's.

Connolly emerged as a respected novelist. His stories featured themes of the sea and fishing and generally centered on the coastal town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. In addition to his writing, he edited and contributed articles to the Boston magazine Limelight throughout the 1930s.

Connolly was eventually conferred honorary degrees from many New England colleges, including Boston College. Notably, he did not accept Harvard's offer.

Connolly died on January 21, 1957, at the age of 88 in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Sources:

"A Great American: James B. Connolly.” The Heights, Feb 2, 1951.

“Author Connolly Dies; Ist U.S. Olympic Champ." Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960), Jan 21, 1957.

"Connolly, James Brendan." Colliers New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier and Son Company, 1921.

"James B. Connolly." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2007.

"Jim Connolly 85 Today." Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960), Oct 28, 1953.