Civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson dies aged 84

Reverend Jackson was seen as the young protégé of Martin Luther King during the 1960s, later setting up the Rainbow-PUSH movement in Chicago.

He also played a leading role in the Democratic Party, running for the White House in 1984 and 1988.

Reverend Jackson finished in a distant third place in 1984, missing out on the Democratic nomination to Walter Mondale and Gary Hart.

However, the civil rights leader secured a second-place primary finish in 1988, shocking his rivals to finish narrowly behind Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

In a statement announcing his passing, Reverend Jackson's family said: "Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world.

“We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.

"His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honour his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by."

Despite appearing at the Democratic National Convention in 2024, Reverend Jackson has been battling progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) for more than a decade.

PSP is “a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements,” the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has said.

Reverend Jackson also announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2017.

The civil rights leader was hospitalised last November for treatment to regulate his blood pressure, having been forced to miss his 84th birthday last October in November.

His family added: “A tireless change agent, he elevated the voices of the voiceless from his presidential campaigns in the 1980s to mobilising millions to register to vote - leaving an indelible mark on history.”

Reverend Jackson was born in October 1941 in Greenville, South Carolina.

He became involved in politics at an early age, ending up as class president at Sterling High School.

Reverend Jackson received a football scholarship to the University of Illinois in 1959, with the Chicago White Sox offering him a place on their iconic baseball team.

However, he decided to focus on his education and the civil rights movement instead.

Reverend Jackson later opted against returning to the University of Illinois after helping to make the library integrated in September 1960.

He transferred to the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro.

Reverend Jackson met his wife, Jacqueline, during college, with the couple later sharing five children – Santita, Jesse Jr, Jonathan Luther, Yusef DuBois, and Jacqueline Jr.

He would go on to have a sixth child, Ashley, following an extramarital affair with Karin Stanford in the early 2000s.

Reverend Jackson struck up a friendship with Reverend Luther King Jr when non-violent protesters were beaten by law enforcement in Selma, Alabama, in 1964.

Reverend Jackson was also offered a position at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.