Born January 17, 1942
Louisville, Kentucky

Boxer

Muhammad Ali. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

Muhammad Ali was one of the best athletes of the twentieth century. On three occasions he won the world heavyweight boxing championship. But he is as equally renowned for two controversial decisions that transcend sports. First, in 1964, just after he earned his first boxing title, he announced that he had left the Christian faith to join the Nation of Islam. Three years later, as American involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75) was rapidly increasing, he refused induction into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs. Although Ali was first and foremost a boxer, his commitment to seeking out a meaningful religious identification and engaging in political protest helped make him a symbol for the changes that swept American society in the 1960s.

Birth of a Boxer

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus...