Richard Jewell was an American security guard who discovered a backpack containing three pipe bomb during the 1996 Sumer Olympics in Atlanta Georgia.
Although one person died and 111 people were injured, he saved countless people’s lives by evacuating the Centennial Olympic Park area and alerting police.
A new film, directed by Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood and starring Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde, explores events surround the explosion.
Initially hailed a hero, Mr Jewell was later considered a suspect in the bombing before eventually being cleared.
Who was Richard Jewell?
Richard Jewell was born in Danville, Virginia on December 17, 1962, and was originally named Richard White.
But when his parents divorced and his mum Bobi remarried John Jewell, he was adopted by his step-father and switched surnames.
According to Mrs Jewell, her first husband, who has since died, was “irresponsible and a ladies' man,” Vanity Fair reported.
When Mr Jewell was six the family moved to Atlanta. Mr Jewell was a bit of a teacher’s pet and had few friends in high school, his mother said.
He loved anything to do with the military and history and would like to talk about Napoleon, the Vietnam War and the first and second world wars.
Mr Jewell later decided he wanted to work with cars, and he enrolled in a technical school in southern Georgia.
However, after his mother’s second marriage broke down he moved back home to look after her.
He then managed a local yoghurt shop, once stopping a burglary in progress, before becoming a clerk at the Small Business Administration at 22.
When his contract finished he became a hotel detective before joining Habersham County Sheriff's Office as a jailer.
He worked his way up to the role of deputy and passed his exams – graduating in the top 25 percent of his class - at Georgia Police Academy to become a law enforcer.
Mr Jewell was said to be unlucky in love, focusing instead on his careers.
Vanity Fair reported: “He presented one woman with an engagement ring, and later, in Habersham County, he would give another a large wooden key with a sign that read, THIS IS THE KEY TO UNLOCK YOUR HEART, but both relationships came apart."
He instead worked nights and became heavily invested in his job, working 14-hour shifts.
However, in 1995 he wrecked his patrol car and was demoted to working in a jail. He decided to resign and took a police job at Piedmont College, a liberal-arts school.
Despite college police only having a jurisdiction of the campus and an extending 500 feet, Mr Jewell chased cars speeding down the highway and had arguments over turf with other officers.
“He was instrumental in several arrests, including that of a suspected burglar he discovered hiding at the top of a tree” Vanity Fair said, and was awarded citizen of the year.
However, his relationship with school turned sour after he was told off for a number of controversial arrests and he once more resigned.
As his mother was going to have an operation on her foot he headed home to Atlanta and decided to work security at the Olympics as it would be good for his CV.
It was during one of his 12-hour shifts on July 27 that he spotted a bomb in a rucksack at a concert.
After the attack, Mr Jewell was made a person if interest due to his lone-wolf profile.
He was subject to intense media scrutiny, and his home was besieged by camera crews.
He was later exonerated and went on to file lawsuits against several news companies about how he was portrayed in the media.
How did he die?
Mr Jewell died on August 29, 2007 at the age of 44.
He had suffered serious medical problems related to diabetes.
What happened during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing?
Shortly after midnight, a backpack was placed beneath a bench containing three pipe bombs surrounded by three-inch long masonry nails.
The nails caused the majority of the injuries in the explosion.
Mr Jewell cleared the area and alerted the police which no doubt saved countless lives.
A 44-year-old woman was killed and 111 people were injured.
