Inventor's name: Naismith, James

Date of birth: 1861

Date of death: 1939

Invention: James Naismith (1861-1939) was a Canadian physical education instructor who invented the game of basketball in 1891, so that his students could participate in sports during the winter. Naismith used a soccer ball which was thrown into peach baskets (with their bottoms intact). Basketball was first played at the Olympics in Berlin Germany in 1936 (America won the gold medal, and Naismith was there). Naismith was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978. The first public basketball game was in Springfield, MA, USA, on March 11, 1892.