Michael Joseph Jackson 

(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter,
dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant
cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance,
and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture.
Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he
popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well
as the robot. He is the most awarded musician in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his public debut in 1964 with his older
brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the
Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star
with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and
"Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the
medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to
innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), HIStory: Past, Present and
Future, Book I (1995), and Invincible (2001). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time,
while Bad was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.[nb 1]
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing
appearance, relationships, behavior, and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the
child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to
lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and
several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct by Jackson in either case. In
2009, while he was preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an
overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in
2011 of involuntary manslaughter. His death triggered reactions around the world, creating
unprecedented surges of Internet traffic and a spike in sales of his music. A televised memorial
service for Jackson, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was viewed by an estimated over 2.5
billion people globally.