Education
Northwestern University.
Northwestern University.
As a 20-year-old at the 1924 Olympics, he swam for the gold-medal-winning American relay team in the men"s 4×200-meter freestyle relay. After swimming in the preliminary heats and semifinals and helping the American relay team qualify for the final, he was replaced by Johnny Weissmuller. Howell also competed in the men"s 1,500-meter freestyle.
He qualified for the semi-finals but did not advance.
Howell was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Hyde Park High School in Chicago, and set several national high school records while swimming for Hyde Park.
After high school, he enrolled in Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he swam for the Northwestern Wildcats swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and Big Ten Conference competition from 1922 to 1926. He also captured four Big Ten titles, and set ten Big Ten freestyle records.
In his final year as a Northwestern undergraduate, Howell married fellow student Elizabeth Fletcher.
Howell died in Arlington Heights, Illinois in 1967.
In the semifinals he was a member of the team that set a new world record of 9:59.4, breaking the ten-minute barrier in the event for the first time. Remembered as one of Northwestern"s all-time greatest swimmers, Howell was also a member of three intercollegiate championship water polo teams and wrestled while at Northwestern.
