Born in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States
Ancestors 
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
[private wife (1950s - unknown)]
Husband of
[private wife (1950s - unknown)]
Descendants 
Father of
[private daughter (1960s - unknown)], [private son (1970s - unknown)], [private daughter (1970s - unknown)], [private son (1970s - unknown)] and Laila Ali
Died
at age 74
in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States
Profile last modified
| Created 13 Nov 2014
This page has been accessed 17,576 times.
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Biography
Muhammad (Clay) Ali is Notable.
Muhammad (Clay) Ali was a part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Muhammad Ali, "the Greatest," was an American World Heavyweight Boxing Champion who in 1966 was stripped of his titles, threatened with prison, and lost prime years of his career in his ultimately successful fight for his rights as an American citizen. Vindicated, he re-won the world championship in 1974, and was the first heavyweight to win the championship three times. He is considered the greatest heavyweight boxer in the history of the sport, a position which gave him a platform for speaking truth to power.[1] Born Cassius Clay on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky,[2] Ali was named for his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, who himself was named in honor of the 19th century Kentucky slave-owner-turned-abolitionist and politician, Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-1903). Ali's father was a sign painter, and his mother, Odessa Grady, was a housewife and domestic worker. [3] A descendant of slaves, Ali was predominantly of African descent, with some Irish and English ancestry.[1]
He was an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1960, and won his first World Heavyweight Championship in 1964. Around that time he became affiliated with the Nation of Islam (later Sunni) and changed his name. He said,
Why should I keep my white slavemaster's name visible and my black ancestors invisible, unknown, unhonored?[4]
I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.[5]
When Ali died, then-President Barack Obama said, referring to that quote,
That’s the Ali I came to know as I came of age – not just as skilled a poet on the mic as he was a fighter in the ring, but a man who fought for what was right. A man who fought for us. He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke out when others wouldn’t. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today.[6]
Ali was married four times, and had seven daughters and two sons. He married his first wife, Sonji Roi, on August 14, 1964. Roi's objections to certain Muslim customs in regard to dress for women contributed to the breakup of their marriage. They divorced, without children, on January 10, 1966.[1]
On August 17, 1967, Ali married Belinda Boyd, who changed her name to Khalilah Ali. They had four children. [1]
In 1977, Ali divorced Khalilah and married Veronica Porché. They had two children. By 1986, Ali and Veronica were divorced.[7]
On November 19, 1986, Ali married Yolanda ("Lonnie") Williams.[8] They had been friends since 1964 in Louisville. They had one son whom they adopted when he was five months old.[1]
Ali had two other children from extramarital relationships.[1]
Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's syndrome in 1984, a disease that is common to head trauma from activities such as boxing.[1]
He died 3 June 2016 of respiratory failure in Phoenix, Arizona, and was buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.[9]
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| In the Oval Office with then President Ronald Reagan. (1983) |
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Wikipedia contributors, "Muhammad Ali," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muhammad_Ali&oldid=1118764241 (accessed November 1, 2022).
- ↑ "Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHR-3VQM : 11 February 2018), Cassuis M Clay, 1942; citing Birth, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.
- ↑
1950 Census:
"1950 United States Federal Census"
United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 1114; Sheet Number: 6; Enumeration District: 122-559
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #88893597 (accessed 12 May 2023)
Cassino Clay Jr (8), single son, in household of Cassius Clay (37) in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA. Born in Kentucky. - ↑ "History website, Muhammad Ali: 'Cassius Clay is my slave name,'" BBC; Retrieved July 2, 2013; cited by Wikipedia.
- ↑ "'I am America': Muhammad Ali's fight for civil rights," 9News, Australia, Agence France-Presse, June 5, 2016; Retrieved June 4, 2016; cited by Wikipedia.
- ↑ Nancy LeTourneau, "Muhammad Ali: 'I Am America,'" Washington Monthly, 6 June 2016.
- ↑ "California Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6V5-QYQ : 27 November 2014), Mohammad Ll and Veronica Porche, 19 Jun 1977; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 2007); citing Los Angeles, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento.
- ↑ "Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHD-W9ZZ : 11 February 2018), Muhamad Ali and Yolanda E Williams, 19 Nov 1986; citing Marriage, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.
- ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163854966/muhammad-ali : accessed 12 February 2022), memorial page for Muhammad Ali (17 Jan 1942–3 Jun 2016), Find A Grave: Memorial #163854966, citing Cave Hill Cemetery, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
- 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky; Roll: 1114; Sheet Number: 6; Enumeration District: 122-559
Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #88893597
Cassino Clay Jr (8), single son, in household of Cassius Clay (37) in Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, USA. Born in Kentucky.
See also:
- Wikipedia: Muhammad Ali
- Wikidata: Item Q36107, en:Wikipedia
- The Irish Times: Just how Irish was Muhammad Ali?: https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/just-how-irish-was-muhammad-ali-1.2673316
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Images: 4
- Muhammad Ali Dead at 74 Jun 5, 2016.
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C > Clay | A > Ali > Cassius Marcellus (Clay) Ali
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Sonji Roi (m. 1964; div. 1966) Belinda Boyd (m. 1967; div. 1977) Veronica Porché Ali (m. 1977; div. 1986) Yolanda Williams (m. 1986)[2] Children 9, including Laila Ali[2] Parent(s) Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. Odessa Grady Clay[2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali
Meltzer, Brad, Heroes for my son, pgs 84-85, Harper Collins Publishing