1979: Retirement of Muhammad Ali .After almost 20 years of professional fights, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali announced his retirement from boxing this day. Although he won the championship from Sonny Liston in 1964, Ali was stripped of his World Boxing Council (WBC) title in 1967 for refusing induction into the armed forces on religious grounds. He regained the title in 1974 from George Foreman, lost it to Leon Spinks on February 15, 1978, and retook the title from Spinks seven months later, thus becoming the first heavyweight to win the championship three times. Ali came out of retirement to fight WBC champion Larry Holmes in 1980 and Trevor Berbick in 1981 but lost both fights.More events on this day1977:Elvis Presley performed in public for the last time. |
1945:The Charter of the United Nations was signed in San Francisco. |
1904:Actor Peter Lorre was born in Rózsahegy, Hungary. |
1721:With the support of Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Zabdiel Boylston began the first smallpox vaccinations in the American colonies. |
1483:Richard Plantagenet, duke of Gloucester, began his reign as Richard III after usurping power from his nephew, Edward V. |
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