Richard Loving was an American man known for his role in the landmark civil rights case, Loving v. Virginia. Born in 1933, he was married to Mildred Loving, an African American woman. Their marriage in 1958 was illegal in Virginia due to the state's anti-miscegenation laws, which prohibited interracial marriage. In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lovings, declaring that laws banning interracial marriage were unconstitutional. This decision was a significant victory for the civil rights movement, helping to dismantle legal barriers against interracial relationships in the United States.