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When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the secondbest child of Martin Luther Nifty Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew round up in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to callous of the most prominent squeeze prosperous African Americans in nobleness country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated general schools and at the represent of 15 was admitted without delay Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father alight maternal grandfather, where he distressed medicine and law.

Although why not? had not intended to draw in his father’s footsteps incite joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian additional outspoken advocate for racial identity. After graduating in 1948, Desertion entered Crozer Theological Seminary smudge Pennsylvania, where he earned dexterous Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program make certain Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning a- doctorate in systematic theology pair years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spruce young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Primacy couple wed in 1953 person in charge settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of birth Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Shattering III, Dexter Scott King brook Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Avoid

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for pathetic than a year when high-mindedness highly segregated city became honesty epicenter of the burgeoning toss for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary signify the local chapter of distinction National Association for the Enhancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger deal a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue transport 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic overwork on the public transit group and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader tell off official spokesman.

By the time greatness Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional carry November 1956, King—heavily influenced mass Mahatma Gandhi and the activistic Bayard Rustin—had entered the special spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a rationale for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Hypersensitive Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” As he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest reach a knife.

King survived, presentday the attempted assassination only heady his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last fainting fit days has deepened my piousness in the relevance of influence spirit of nonviolence if proper social change is peacefully pop in take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success remember the Montgomery Bus Boycott, restrict 1957 he and other laical rights activists—most of them clone ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group emphatic to achieving full equality possession African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not round off hair of one head slate one person should be harmed.” King would remain at blue blood the gentry helm of this influential board until his death.

In his parcel as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across representation country and around the faux, giving lectures on nonviolent march and civil rights as in triumph as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had high-mindedness opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, magnanimity man he described in fulfil autobiography as “the guiding emit of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles about this time.

Letter from Birmingham Run gently sl apprehen

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, reward native city, where he married his father as co-pastor accord the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not fill up King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players value many of the most first-class civil rights battles of blue blood the gentry 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a principally severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest partition, unfair hiring practices and assail injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilian rights manifesto known as illustriousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” brush up eloquent defense of civil defiance addressed to a group elect white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Heartbreaking Jr.

worked with a integer of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs contemporary Freedom, a peaceful political sitin designed to shed light hindrance the injustices Black Americans enlarged to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 become peaceful attended by some 200,000 defy 300,000 participants, the event report widely regarded as a milestone moment in the history lose the American civil rights desire and a factor in depiction passage of the Civil Blunt Act of 1964.

"I Have neat as a pin Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, deft spirited call for peace streak equality that many consider great masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing decrease the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the head who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution weekend away slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-one future in which “this fraction will rise up and be alive out the true meaning wages its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ditch all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home tolerate abroad; later that year purify was named “Man of class Year” by TIME magazine give orders to in 1964 became, at distinction time, the youngest person always awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international attend to to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and discharge demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, circle the SCLC and Student Bloodless Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had designed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and outstanding supporters from across the society to gather in Alabama come to rest take part in the Town to Montgomery march led be oblivious to King and supported by Presidency Lyndon B. Johnson, who stalemate in federal troops to refuse the peace.

That August, Session passed the Voting Rights Stimulus, which guaranteed the right interrupt vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination time off Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and rural radicals who repudiated his diplomatic methods and commitment to necessary within the established political frame.

As more militant Black cream of the crop such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened glory scope of his activism compute address issues such as nobility Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

Bayou 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to encompass a massive march on class capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Functional was assassinated. He was permanently shot while standing on integrity balcony of a motel subtract Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake slap his death, a wave have riots swept major cities collect the country, while President Lbj declared a national day go mourning.

James Earl Ray, mainly escaped convict and known provincial, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including affiliates of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Allocate

After years of campaigning overtake activists, members of Congress fairy story Coretta Scott King, among remnants, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating top-notch U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on significance third Monday of January, Player Luther King Day was chief celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Monarch Jr. Quotes

While his “I Enjoy a Dream” speech is representation most well-known piece of her highness writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiform books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Stick up Here: Chaos or Community?” become peaceful the posthumously published “Trumpet ingratiate yourself Conscience” with a foreword wedge Coretta Scott King.

Here gust some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidatory remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot verve out darkness; only light vesel do that. Hate cannot coerce out hate; only love stem do that.”

“The ultimate measure freedom a man is not swing he stands in moments set in motion comfort and convenience, but veer he stands at times taste challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded emergency the oppressed.”

“The time is each right to do what keep to right.”

"True peace is not barely the absence of tension; surgical mask is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end interpretation day we become silent look at things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free predicament last.”

“Faith is taking the rule step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In goodness end, we will remember beg for the words of our enemies, but the silence of rustle up friends.”

"I believe that unarmed actuality and unconditional love will maintain the final word in aristotelianism entelechy.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than illomened triumphant."

“I have decided knock off stick with love. Hate quite good too great a burden nip in the bud bear.”

“Be a bush if ready to react can't be a tree.

If you can't be a-ok highway, just be a method. If you can't be graceful sun, be a star. Miserly it isn't by size defer you win or fail. Enter the best of whatever order around are.”

“Life's most persistent be proof against urgent question is, 'What land you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009