Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in jail. But it also set in motion the Montgomery bus boycott. It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. "The only tired I was, was tired of giving in," said Parks. Her historic act demonstrated the power of peaceful protest. (1913—2005)