Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 in Georgia and was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball, breaking the color barrier in 1947. He faced discrimination throughout his life but had a successful baseball career, winning Rookie of the Year in 1947 and MVP in 1949 while helping the Brooklyn Dodgers win six pennants and the 1955 World Series. Robinson continued advocating for civil rights after his baseball career and passed away in 1972 at the age of 53 from complications of diabetes.