Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era.[1] Robinson broke the baseball color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.[2] When the Dodgers signed Robinson, they heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.[3] Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.