Albert van den Weghe

Birthday: July 28, 1916 in New York, New York, USA

Birth Name: Albert Joseph Vande Weghe

Champion swimmer Albert Joseph Vande Weghe was born on July 28, 1916 in New York, New York. Vande Weghe won the silver medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germ ...Show More

Champion swimmer Albert Joseph Vande Weghe was born on July 28, 1916 in New York, New York. Vande Weghe won the silver medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Following his triumph at the Olympics, Albert attended Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. While at Princeton University Vande Weghe swam for the Princeton Tigers swimming and diving team where he swam for four years without ever losing a college dual meet as well as won the National Collegiate Athletic Associate championship in the 150-yard backstroke for three consecutive years in a row. Moreover, Albert was known as the first man to swim the 100-yard backstroke in under a minute. After graduating from Princeton University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1940, Vande Weghe went on to work for the DuPont Company as a chemical engineer for over thirty-five years. He was inducted as an Honor Swimmer into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990. Albert died at age 86 on August 13, 2002 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hide