Born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky, Muhammad Ali, the Olympic gold medalist and former heavyweight champion boxer, was a highly recognizable figure in the world of sports.
Originally named Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., he often referred to himself as “The Greatest,” a title supported by his impressive record in the ring.
Eighty-five pound Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., is shown posing at twelve, prior to his amateur ring debut in 1954, a three minute, three round split decision over another novice named Ronnie O’Keefe, in Louisville, Kentucky. (AP Photo)
Boxer Cassius Clay lifts Ringo Starr, one of the Beatles into the air while the singers visited Clay’s camp in Miami Beach, Fla. , February 18, 1964. Others are, from left: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and John Lennon. (AP Photo)
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shouting and gesturing shortly after dropping Liston with a short hard right to the jaw on May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine. The bout lasted only one minute into the first round. Ali is the only man ever to win the world heavyweight boxing championship three times. He also won a gold medal in the light-heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome as a member of the U.S. Olympic boxing team. In 1964 he dropped the name Cassius Clay and adopted the Muslim name Muhammad Ali. (AP Photo/John Rooney)
Beyond his achievements in boxing, he boldly expressed his beliefs through actions such as changing his name from Cassius Clay and taking strong political and social stances.
Muhammad Ali, who battled Parkinson’s disease for over 30 years, passed away on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74.
In this March 18, 2016 file photo, the childhood home of Muhammad Ali is seen in Louisville, Ky. The home has been purchased and restored over the last nine months and is being transformed into a museum. The owners who bought and restored Ali’s boyhood home in the boxer’s hometown of Louisville are closing the tourist attraction. The modest shotgun home where Ali was known as Cassius Clay opened as a museum-style attraction just days before the boxer’s death in June 2016. Co-owner George Bochetto told The Courier-Journal on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017, that the owners decided to close the museum and lay off a handful of employees this week. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan, File)Young heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay points to a sign he wrote on a chalk board in his dressing room before his fight against Archie Moore in Los Angeles, Nov. 15, 1962, predicting he’d knock Moore out in the fourth round, which he went on to do. The sign also predicts Clay will be the next champ via a knockout over Sonny Liston in eight rounds. Photo was made after the Clay-Moore fight. (AP Photo/Harold P. Matosian)In this April 4, 1963, file photo, young heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay is seen with his mother, Odessa Grady Clay, in a car outside their home in Louisville, Ky. In “Muhammad Ali: Athlete of the Century”, a collection of Associated Press stories and visuals about of the boxing champion, AP reporters and photographers captured the life of Ali as he made news both professionally and personally over several decades. (AP Photo/H.B. Littell, File)In this Friday, July 19, 1996 file photo, Muhammad Ali holds a torch as he watches as the flame climb up to the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. As Cassius Clay, he won the gold medal as a light heavyweight at the 1960 Rome Olympics. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)In this Feb. 28, 1966 file photo, Muhammad Ali listens to Elijah Muhammad as he speaks to other black Muslims in Chicago. Two days after the 1964 fight with Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay announced he was a member of the Nation of Islam and was changing his name to Cassius X. He would later become Muhammad Ali as he broke away from Malcom X and aligned himself with the sect’s leader, Elijiah Muhammad. “What is all the commotion about?” he asked. “Nobody asks other people about their religion. But now that I’m the champion I am the king so it seems the world is all shook up about what I believe.” (AP Photo/Paul Cannon)
