Here is a glimpse into the life of American representative John Lewis (D-Ga.), A leader in civil rights.
Date of Birth: February 21, 1940
Place of birth: Troy, Alabama
Birth name: John Robert Lewis
Dad: Eddie Lewis, sharecropper
Mother: Willie Mae (Carter) Lewis
Wedding: Lillian Miles Lewis (December 21, 1968 - December 31, 2012, her death)
Children: John Miles
Education: American Baptist Theological Seminary, BA, 1961; Fisk University, BA, 1967
Religion: Baptist
Lewis's skull was fractured in 1965 during an attempted vote march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama.
According to his own account, Lewis has been arrested more than 40 times during his days as a civil rights activist.
1959-1960: Organizes sit-in demonstrations for students in the Nashville area.
May 1961: Volunteers as a Freedom Rider, defying the laws on the segregation of buses and trains.
1963-1966: President of the non-violent student coordination committee.
August 28, 1963: Keynote speaker at the March on Washington.
March 7, 1965: Help organize a march for Selma's right to vote in Montgomery and is one of the 600 demonstrators attacked by the police. This day is known as Bloody Sunday.
21-25 March 1965: Joined over 3,000 protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery, this time under the protection of Federal troops. The group size reached 25,000 by the time they reached Montgomery.
1966: Co-founds the Southern Coordination Committee to End the Vietnam War.
1966-1967: Associate Director of the Field Foundation.
1967-1970: Director of community organization for the Southern Regional Council.
1970-1977: Director of the voter education project.
1977-1980: Associate Director of ACTION, a federal voluntary agency. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter.
1982-1986: Member of Atlanta City Council.
1987-2020: Serves in the United States House of Representatives for the 5th District of Georgia.
1988: Lewis' memoir, "Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of Movement," is published.
March 7, 2004: The John R. Lewis monument is unveiled in Selma, Alabama, at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the events of Bloody Sunday.
April 27, 2009: Arrested outside the Sudanese embassy, where he protests against obstruction of aid to refugees in Darfur.
February 15, 2011: President Barack Obama awards Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
August 2013: Top Shelf Productions publishes "March: Book One". The graphic novel is the first in a planned trilogy, written by Lewis and Andrew Aydin, and illustrated by Nate Powell.
January 2015: Top Shelf Productions publishes "March: Book Two".
June 22, 2016: Lewis is leading a sit-in on the floor of the House to protest inaction on gun control and try to push for a vote preventing those on the terrorist watch list from buying guns. The protest attracts 170 lawmakers. After about 25 hours, Democrats decide to end the sit-in, but vow to continue when Congress returns for its next session.
August 2016: Top Shelf Productions publishes "March: Book Three".
January 13, 2017: In an interview with NBC News, Lewis said he did not consider President-elect Donald Trump a legitimate president because of the evidence of Russian interference during the run-up to the elections. He says he will not attend the inauguration - the second time he boycotted an inauguration in protest. In 2001, he refused to attend the nomination for George W. Bush, who won a close election after the Supreme Court interrupted a recount in Florida. Bush won the Electoral College even though Vice President Al Gore passed him in the popular vote.
January 14, 2017: Trump criticizes Lewis in threaded tweet: "Congressman John Lewis should spend more time fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible and collapsing condition (not to mention infested crime) instead than falsely complaining about the election results. Speak, speak - no action or result. Sad! "Lewis responds with a statement encouraging donors to pledge money to the National Democratic Committee, adding:" Today, Donald Trump attacked me on Twitter. He said I'm "all talking" and "no action." I was beaten in blood, tear gas, fighting for what is right for America. I walked in Selma with Dr King. Sometimes that's what it takes to move our country forward in the right direction. "
July 28, 2018: Falls ill during a flight to Atlanta. Spends a night in hospital for undisclosed reasons and is released the next day with a "flawless health check", according to his spokesperson.
December 29, 2019: In a statement, Lewis announces that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
