Jefferson Thomas

Civil Rights Leader

Birthday September 19, 1942

Birth Sign Virgo

Birthplace Arkansas

DEATH DATE Sep 5, 2010 (67)

#178,607 Most Popular

About

Famous as a member of The Little Rock Nine, he was a joint recipient of the 1999 Congressional Gold Medal, which was awarded four decades after he and eight other young people became the first African American students to attend Little Rock Central High School.

Before Fame

Before entering Little Rock Central High School in his sophomore year, he was a member of the track team at the nearby, segregated Horace Mann High School.

Trivia

He attended Wayne State University and Los Angeles State College and served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.

Family Life

He and his six older siblings grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. He and his wife, Mary, later settled in Columbus, Ohio, with their son and Mary's two older children.

Associated With

He and Ernest Gideon Green were both members of the famous Little Rock Nine.