Ali, Muhammad

1942 - Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942 by the name of Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr..

1960 - He won his first professional fight on October 29, 1960.

1960-1963 - He amassed a record of 19-0, with 15 knockouts.

1964 - He had a fight with Sonny Liston which was held on February 25, 1964 in Miami, Florida. he failed the Armed Forces qualifying test.

1965 - He had a rematch with Liston on May 1965.

1966 - He was reclassified 1A in the revised test. He was scheduled to fight WBA champion Ernie Terrell in Toronto on March 29, 1966 but Terrell backed out. He won a fifteen round decision against the substitute opponent George Chuvalo.

1967 - He had a final defense against Zora Folley on March 1967. He returned to Houston boxing ring to fight Ernie Terrell. He was stripped of his title by the professional boxing commission and would not allowed to fight professionally for more than three years.

1970 - He was allowed to fight again. He was able to get a boxing license. He fought to Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden on December 1970.

1971 - He fought to Frazier on March 8, 1971 in Madison Square Garden which was known as "The Fight of the Century".

1974 - He regained his title by defeating champion George Foreman on October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire.

1975 - He changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam and converted to orthodox Sunni Islam. He fought to Chuck Wepner in Cleveland on March 24, 1975 which inspired the Academy Award winning movie "Rocky". He was again slated to fight Joe Frazier.

1976 - He fought Jimmy Young in Landover, Maryland on April 30, 1976.

1979 - He announced his retirement and vacated the title on June 27, 1979.

1980 - He challenged Larry Holmes for the WBC's version of the Heavyweight title on October 2, 1980.

1981 - He fought rising contender and future world champion Trevor Berbick on December 11, 1981. He retired permanently.

1985 - He served as a guest referee at the inaugural WrestleMania event.

1987 - He was selected by the California Bicentennial Foundation for the U.S. Constitution to personify the vitality of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights.

1991 - He published an oral history entitled Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times with Thomas Hauser.

1996 - He had the honor of lighting the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.

1998 - He appeared at the AFL Grand Final.

1999 - He received a special one-off award from the BBC at its annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony.

2001 - A biographical film entitled Ali with Will Smith starring as Ali.

2005 - On November 9, 2005, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony. He received prestigious "Otto Hahn peace medal in Gold" of the United Nations Association of Germany on December 17, 2005.