John Lewis
John Lewis was an American politician and civil rights leader. Born February 21, 1940, in Troy. Died July 17, 2020, in Atlanta. Positions held include council member (1982–1986) and United States representative (1987–2020). Educated at American Baptist College and Fisk University. Awards include Presidential Medal of Freedom, Wallenberg Medal and Profile in Courage Award.
Facts
40 facts · 2 confirmed by two sources · 24 cited · 14 from one source
Where this comes from
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What Wikidata says · copied November 13, 2026 · revision 2568219149
- Described as
- American politician and civil rights leader (1940–2020)
- Other names
- John Robert Lewis
- Born
- February 21, 1940 · 5 references
- Died
- July 17, 2020 · 3 references
- Born in
- Troy
- Died in
- Atlanta · 1 reference
- Buried in
- South-View Cemetery · 1 reference
- Cause of death
- pancreatic cancer
- Name at birth
- John Robert Lewis
- Citizen of
- United States
- Occupation
- politician · 1 reference; chairperson (1963–1966) · 1 reference; human rights defender · 1 reference
- Positions held
- council member (1982–1986) · 1 reference; United States representative (1987–2020) · 2 references
- Political party
- Democratic Party
- Education
- American Baptist College (–1961) · 1 reference; Fisk University (–1969) · 1 reference; Pike County Schools · 1 reference
- Awards
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011) · 1 reference; Wallenberg Medal (1999); Profile in Courage Award (2001) · 1 reference; Spingarn Medal (2002) · 1 reference; Four Freedoms Award – Freedom of Speech; Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights (1998); Lillian Smith Book Award (1998) · 1 reference; Library of Congress Living Legend (2000–) · 2 references; Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (1999); National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2016); Inkpot Award (2017) · 1 reference; Michael L. Printz Award (2017); Glyph Comics Award for Best Writer (2017) · 1 reference; Walter Dean Myers Award (2017); Sibert Medal
- Field
- politics · 1 reference; activism · 1 reference; civic engagement · 1 reference; civil and political rights · 1 reference; civil rights movement · 1 reference; civil rights · 1 reference
- Religion
- Baptists · 1 reference
- Website
- http://johnlewis.house.gov · 1 reference
- Wikipedias with a page
- 46
Wikidata item Q45380 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q45380), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.
What Wikipedia says · copied November 13, 2026 · revision 1384364431
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987 until his death in 2020.
He participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins and the Freedom Rides, was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1963 to 1966, and was one of the "Big Six" leaders of groups who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Lewis played a key role in the civil rights movement and its actions to end legalized racial segregation in the United States. In 1965, Lewis led the first of three Selma to Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where, in an incident that became known as Bloody Sunday, state troopers and police attacked Lewis and the other marchers.
A member of the Democratic Party, Lewis was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986 and served 17 terms. The district he represented included most of Atlanta. Due to his length of service, he became the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. He was one of the leaders of the Democratic Party in the House, serving from 1991 as a chief deputy whip and from 2003 as a senior chief deputy whip. He received many honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
- Born, in its opening lines
- February 21, 1940
- Died, in its opening lines
- July 17, 2020
From the Wikipedia article “John Lewis” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.
Confirmed Two sources agree. Cited One source, and it names where it got it. One source One source, without a reference of its own. Sources disagree The sources disagree. We show the best-supported value and keep theirs below.
