Origins & Early Life

The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by Orval Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic decision Brown v. Board of Education on May 17, 1954. Tied to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the decision declared all laws establishing segregated schools to be unconstitutional, and it called for the desegregation of all schools throughout the nation.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

After the decision, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) attempted to register black students in previously all-white schools in cities throughout the South. In Little Rock, Arkansas, the school board agreed to comply with the high court's ruling. Virgil Blossom, the Superintendent of Schools, submitted a plan of gradual integration to the school board on May 24, 1955, which the board unanimously approved. The plan would be implemented during the fall of the...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Aga Khan III — Historical peer (Died in 1957) (1957): 48th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili community and founder of the All-India Muslim League.
• Aliko Dangote — Historical peer (Born in 1957) (1957): Nigerian billionaire founder of Dangote Group, a major industrial conglomerate.
• Aarathi — Historical peer (Born in 1954) (1954): Veteran Indian actress celebrated for her roles in Kannada cinema.
• Alan Turing — Historical peer (Died in 1954) (1954): Father of theoretical computer science, known for the Turing machine and codebreaking.
• Akira Toriyama — Historical peer (Born in 1955) (1955): Pioneering manga artist, creator of Dr. Slump and the global phenomenon, Dragon Ball.
• Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud — Historical peer (Born in 1955) (1955): Saudi billionaire, investor, and influential member of the House of Saud.