1 . Ali, the boxing legend, died on Friday night at 74，after a Long battle with Parkinson's disease.

Cassius Clay (Ali) was just 12 years old in 1954 when he got ready to beat the boy who stole his bicycle in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. But a local policeman warned him that he'd need to learn to box first. At just 89 pounds, Clay had his first fight and his first win just weeks later, according to Bleacher Report. By 1964, he was the heavyweight champion of the world, alter upsetting Sonny Liston.

In 1969, he was forbidden to do boxing over his refusal to join the army and go to Vietnam. Ali was reportedly drowning in debt and still appealing his conviction(上诉).He made pocket change by touring colleges to discuss the war, and, as Playbill points out, he starred in the Broadway musical, Buck White.

Ali sang nearly every song in the musical, playing a black lecturer addressing a meeting organized by a black political group. But he would never return to the stage after his conviction was cancelled.

In November 1990, Ali met with Iraq president Saddam Hussein in Baghdad on a "good-will tour" in an attempt to negotiate the release of 15 Americans held hostage(人质)in and Kuwait.   Ali was criticized by then-President George H. W, Bush and The New York Times, both of whom expressed concerns that he was fueling propaganda (宣传) machine.

Despite running out of medicine for his disease and waiting more than a week to talk to Hus-rein, Ali was able to bring all 15 of a group of American war prisoners home.