| Age | 78 (age at death) |
| Birthday | 6 November, 1861 |
| Birthplace | Almonte, Ontario |
| Died | 28 November, 1939 |
| Place of Death | Lawrence, Kansas, United States |
| Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Claim to Fame | Creator of Basketball |
James Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was a Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, sports coach, and innovator. The same year he left Canada for Springfield, Massachusetts, he invented the game of basketball. He wrote the original basketball rule book and founded the University of Kansas basketball program. Naismith lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as well as the birth of the National Invitation Tournament (1938) and the NCAA Tournament (1939).
