Born: 19 May 1925 · Died: 21 February 1965 · Age: 39
African American Muslim minister and Nation of Islam spokesman whose fiery speeches and Autobiography made him a civil rights icon
Did you know?He famously replaced his surname with a single letter to represent the lost name of his enslaved African ancestors.
Quick facts
Date of birth19 May 1925
Date of death21 February 1965
Age at death39
Cause of deathGunshot wound
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceOmaha, United States
Occupationpolitician, autobiographer, political activist
Editor's Take:
Malcolm X was one of the most powerful voices of Black America. His father was a preacher who died violently, and his childhood was hard. In prison he joined the Nation of Islam and educated himself. He became its most famous speaker, calling for Black pride and self-defence. After leaving the Nation and making the pilgrimage to Mecca, his views broadened. He was assassinated in New York in 1965. His autobiography is a classic.
Key Milestones
1946: Prison – sentenced for burglary
1952: Released – Nation of Islam minister
1964: Mecca – Hajj
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, civil rights activist, and Muslim minister who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination in 1965.
