He was originally named in honor of a white abolitionist
The fighter, like his father, was named for Cassius Marcellus Clay, who was a 19th-century farmer and anti-slavery crusader emancipating the 40 slaves he inherited from his father. The abolitionist, a second cousin of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, was the editor of an anti-slavery newspaper, commanded troops in the Mexican-American War and served as minister to Russia under President Abraham Lincoln.
10 astonishing facts about Muhammad Ali you probably didn’t know
