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Cassius Clay is born in Louisville, Kentucky
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Clay's bike is stolen, and he is directed to a police officer, Joe Martin, who runs a training gym. Clay starts taking boxing lessons with Martin.
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Cassius Clay wins a gold medal in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome against Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski.
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Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston and becomes the heavyweight champion of the world for the first time
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Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam and settles on the name, Muhammad Ali, meaning "one worthy of praise."
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Muhammad Ali refuses to join the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War. Ali is banned from boxing for three years.
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Muhammad Ali returns to boxing to defeat Jerry Quarry
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Ali gains his first loss profesionally against Joe Frazier. The fight is billed as "The Fight of the Century"
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Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in their second battle.
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In Zaire, Africa, Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman in a huge upset in what's known as "The Rumble in the Jungle"
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Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in their third and final battle which is dubbed "The Thrilla in Manila". Both men had to go to the hospital afterwards.
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Ali announces his retirement from boxing
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Ali returns to boxing to lose to Larry Holmes, and loses his last fight to Trevor Berbick
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Muhammad Ali is diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, which infiltrates the brain and starts ravaging the central nervous sytem
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Ali is chosen to light the Olympic torch for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic games
