Ellison Myers Brown (September 22, 1913 – August 23, 1975), widely known as Tarzan Brown, a direct descendant of the last acknowledged royal family of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island (also known as Deerfoot amongst his people), was a two-time winner of the Boston Marathon in 1936 (2:33:40) and 1939 (2:28:51) and 1936 U.S. Olympian. He ran the marathon in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and also qualified for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but these were ultimately canceled due to the outbreak of World War II. Tarzan Brown is one of two Indigenous North Americans to have won the Boston Marathon (the other being Thomas Longboat, of the Onondaga Nation from Canada, who won the 1907 marathon) and the only indigenous person to have more than one victory. He was inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. Brown set the American men's record for the marathon at the 1939 Boston Marathon (2:28:51) and at the 1940 marathon in Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts (2:27:30). Biography Early life Ellison Myers Brown was born on September 22, 1913 in the Potter Hill section of Westerly, Rhode Island to Narragansett parents Byron Otis Brown (1879 - 1943) and Grace Ethel (Babcock) Brown (1876 - 1935). Brown had three sisters (Myra, Alice aka "Nina", and Grace) and three brothers (Franklin, Elwin and Clifford). Brown received little formal schooling. He attended the Tomaquag School in Alton for at least three years, but did not complete his schooling beyond seventh grade. The nickname "Tarzan", according to stories, was given to him early in life. He was a natural outdoorsman who developed an athletic build and significant strength. Unafraid of heights, he loved to climb trees and swing from one branch to another, as well as rope to rope. His strength and balance were so remarkable it seemed to observers that his athleticism had no limits, and reminded them of Edgar Rice Burroughs‘s famous fictional hero. Brown was first noticed for his running talent when he was merely 12 years old. As Native American runner Horatio "Chief" Stanton was training for an upcoming race, his trainer Thomas "Tip" Salimeno watched as the boy ran, following after Stanton and trying to keep pace. Salimeno took the young athlete under his wing when Brown turned 16 and began to train him, his first official steps to an illustrious career in marathon running that saw Brown