 He gave a widely publicized speech at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast that catapulted him to conservative fame for his views on social and political issues.Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Robert Solomon Carson, Jr. (1914–1992), a World War II U.S. Army veteran, and his wife, Sonya Carson (née Copeland; 1928–2017).Robert Carson was a Baptist minister, but later a Cadillac automobile plant laborer.