X (Malcolm) is born in Omaha.

The son Garvey missionaries Earl and Louise (Langdon) Little, Malcolm X grows up in the Midwest and comes to Boston in 1941 to live with his half-sister, Ella Collins at 72 Dale Street and works at various jobs, including as a shoeshine boy at the Roseland-State Ballroom and a busboy at the Parker House. After turning to petty crime, he is imprisoned in 1946,* and converts to Islam, assuming his subsequent name and becoming a follower of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. He founds a temple in Boston in 1953,* and goes on to become one of the most charismatic speakers of his time. After breaking with the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He is killed in New York City on February 21, 1965.