Muhammad Ali

Described as

American boxer (1942–2016)

Other names

Muhammad Ali Clay, The Greatest, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., Cassius Clay, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.

Born

January 17, 1942 · 12 references

Died

June 3, 2016 · 12 references

Born in

Louisville · 1 reference

Died in

Scottsdale · 1 reference

Buried in

Grave of Muhammad Ali

Cause of death

respiratory disease

Name at birth

Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.

Citizen of

United States · 1 reference

Occupation

boxer · 2 references; autobiographer; activist; author; athlete · 1 reference

Education

Santa Monica College; Central High School · 1 reference

Sport

boxing

Record label

Columbia Records

Awards

Presidential Citizens Medal (2001); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2005) · 1 reference; Philadelphia Liberty Medal; Arthur Ashe Courage Award; Otto Hahn Peace Medal (2005) · 1 reference; Library of Congress Living Legend (2000–) · 1 reference; Associated Press Athlete of the Year (1974); star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (2002) · 1 reference; International Boxing Hall of Fame (1990) · 1 reference; WBC World Heavyweight Champion (2 times) (1964–1978) · 1 reference; WBA World Heavyweight Champion (3 times) (1964–1979) · 1 reference; The Ring World Heavyweight Champion (2 times) (1964–1979) · 1 reference; Barney Nagler Award (1984) · 1 reference; Sugar Ray Robinson Award (3 times) (1965, 1974, 1975) · 1 reference; The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (6 times) (1963, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978) · 1 reference

Spouse

Sonji Roi (1964–1966); Khalilah Ali (1967–1977); Veronica Porché Ali (1977–1986); Yolanda Williams (1986–2016)

Children

Maryum Ali; Muhammad Ali Jr.; Hana Ali; Laila Ali; Rasheda Ali

Father

Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr.

Mother

Odessa Grady Clay

Siblings

Rahman Ali

Religion

Nation of Islam (1964–1975) · 1 reference; Sunni Islam (1975–) · 1 reference

Lived in

Scottsdale; Cherry Hill

Nickname

The Greatest; The Louisville Lip

Height

1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) · 1 reference

Website

http://ali.com

Wikipedias with a page

185

Wikidata item Q36107 (wikidata.org/wiki/Q36107), public domain (CC0). Copied November 13, 2026.

Muhammad Ali ( ah-LEE; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "the Greatest", he is often regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. He held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970, was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978, and was the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) in the early 1960s, but later transitioned to Sunni Islam in the mid-1970s after the death of NOI's longtime leader, Elijah Muhammad. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. During that year, he denounced his birth name as a "slave name" and formally changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, owing to his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War, and was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison while appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, where his conviction was overturned in 1971. He did not fight for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture of the 1960s generation, and he became a prominent, high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career.
Ali fought in several highly publicized boxing matches, including fights with Liston, Joe Frazier (including the Fight of the Century, which at the time was the biggest boxing event, and the Thrilla in Manila), and George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle. At a time when many boxers let their managers do the talking, Ali became renowned for his provocative and outlandish persona. He was famous for trash talking, often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, and is identified as a pioneer in hip-hop. He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, footwork, head movement, and rope-a-dope technique, among others.
Outside boxing, Ali performed as a spoken word artist, releasing two studio albums: I Am the Greatest! (1963) and The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976). Both albums received Grammy Award nominations. He also featured as an actor and writer, releasing two autobiographies. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and focused on religion, philanthropy, and activism. In 1984, he made public his diagnosis of Parkinson's syndrome, which some reports attributed to boxing-related injuries, though he and his specialist physicians disputed this. He remained an active public figure, but in his later years made fewer public appearances as his condition worsened, and was cared for by his family until his death in 2016.

Born, in its opening lines

January 17, 1942

Died, in its opening lines

June 3, 2016

From the Wikipedia article “Muhammad Ali” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali), by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copied November 13, 2026; not changed.