Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis has died at age 80

Rep. John Lewis of Georgia died late Friday at the age of 80.

He was a civil rights icon and had served in the House of Representatives since 1987. Before entering US politics, Lewis championed desegregation and was one of the original Freedom Riders, a group of civil rights activists who rode interstate buses through the South to demonstrate against segregated bus terminals.

Lewis was also the last surviving speaker of the 1963 March on Washington. Two years later, on March 7, 1965, Lewis rose to national prominence when he led over 600 peaceful protesters across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama.

The day became known as "Bloody Sunday" after Alabama state troopers violently subdued the demonstrators with tear gas and batons when they reached the end of the bridge. Lewis suffered a fractured skull as a result of the attack.