1.Childhood and Parents

Imam Khomeini was born in the town of Khomein, about 350 kms south of Tehran in the central province, on the 20th of Jamadi-Al-Thani, the year 1320 L.H.,(September 24, 1902). Also the birth anniversary of Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). He was named Ruhollah. The spirit of God.

His father, Ayatollah Seyyed Mostafa Musavi, assumed the religious leadership of the people of Khomein and the nearby villages after his return from the Islamic theology center in the city of Najaf, Iraq. But only a few months after Ruhollah was born, his father was fatally wounded by bandits on the road to Arak, north of Khomein. He was 47.

Imam Khomeini`s mother, Hajar, was also of a prominent religious family. She was the daughter of an Ayatollah Mirza Ahmad, a scholar and teacher in Karbala and Najaf theological centers, in Iraq. She also passed away when the Imam was only 15.

2. Education

Despite these personal disasters, the Imam remained resistant and began using his talent and intelligence in learning Islamic sciences --first under his brother, Ayatollah Seyyed Morteza Pasandideh. Later he went to the theological school in Arak where he attended the classes of the prominent scholar of his time, Haj Sheikh Abdulkarim Haeri Yazdi. He also mastered Arabic literature.

After top theologians moved from Arak to the holy city of Qom, the Imam intensified his studies and completed the highest level of theology by 1927, and soon later was pronounced a mujtahid, qualified jurist, by his senior tutors. He specialized in various fields other than Fiqh (jurisprudence), including Philosophy, Irfan and Ethics.

3. Political Life before 1963

Known for his strong political views against the regime, the security agents of Reza Khan, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, were ordered to restrict the Imam"s activities. But the Imam continued his gradual but firm effort to spread his enlightening message to masses.

After the death of Ayatollah Borujerdi, the paramount shia leader of the time, the Imam was chosen his successor by the Ulema and people. With this, his cultural Jihad against the monarchy gathered momentum in 1961, reaching a climax in 1963.

http://www.tebyan.net/Islam_Features/Islamic_World/Muslim_Scientists_and_Thinkers/2008/5/25/67230.html