When announcing his name change, legendary professional boxing champion Muhammad Ali said: “Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn't choose it and I don't want it.“ But the origin of his name is actually much more interesting than his words.
Boxer Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., later known as Muhammad Ali, was named after his father Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., who was himself named after Kentucky abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay, one of the most prominent and controversial men of his time.
Abolitionism was a political movement (from the late 18th and early 19th centuries) for the abolition of slavery, the abolition of the slave trade, and the emancipation of slaves in Western Europe and America.
The original Cassius Clay became an abolitionist while studying at Yale. When he returned to his home in Kentucky, he freed his slaves and began a career as a politician and activist in a state where abolitionism was extremely unpopular.
Cassius Clay was a fearless fighter. Although he carried two pistols and kept his own cannon at home, his preferred weapon was his Bowie knife. While Clay was giving a speech in 1843, a hitman jumped on stage and shot him in the chest. Fortunately for Clay, the bullet was deflected by his knife. With a bullet in his chest, Clay lunged at his attacker and stabbed him repeatedly, cutting off the man's nose and ear. On another occasion, after giving a speech against slavery, Clay was attacked by six brothers. Despite being stabbed and beaten to death, Clay fought off all six with his Bowie knife, killing one of them.
During the Civil War, Cassius Clay served briefly as a general in the Union Army before becoming the U.S. ambassador to Russia. He played a major role in securing Russian support for the North during the war and later in securing the Alaska Purchase.
As a husband and father, Clay was a great example. In 1878, at the age of 68, Clay divorced his wife of 65 years, Mary Jane. He was absent from the family for most of his life, and their children were raised almost entirely by Mary Jane. Two of their daughters, Mary Barr Clay and Laura Clay, became prominent activists in the women's rights movement, in part as a result of witnessing how their mother was treated.
At the age of 84, Clay married the 15-year-old sister of one of his tenants. He died in 1903 at the age of 92.
Cassius Marcellus Clay was born on October 19, 1810, exactly 215 years ago.