Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, where he grew up in the segregated South and discovered boxing as a youth after his bicycle was stolen; he quickly rose through amateur ranks and won a gold medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics before turning professional. Early in his professional career he developed a distinctive style—exceptional speed, footwork, and showmanship—and in a major upset on February 25, 1964, defeated Sonny Liston to win the world heavyweight title at age 22. Shortly after the Liston fight Ali announced his conversion to Islam and adopted the name Muhammad Ali, affiliating initially with the Nation of Islam; his religious beliefs and political stances soon made him a polarizing national figure. In 1967 he refused induction into the U.S. armed forces because of his religious convictions and opposition to the Vietnam War; he was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing license and title, and barred from fighting for roughly three-and-a-half years while his case worked its way to the Supreme Court, which unanimously overturned the conviction in 1971. Ali mounted a comeback in the 1970s, regaining the heavyweight championship twice more and taking part in several of boxing’s most famous bouts—such as the Rumble in the Jungle (1974) versus George Foreman and the Thrilla in Manila (1975) versus Joe Frazier—further cementing his status as a cultural icon. After retiring from boxing in 1981 Ali devoted himself to charitable work, diplomacy, and promoting peace; he became a global ambassador for humanitarian causes, supported Parkinson’s disease research after his own diagnosis, and received honors including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.