Amazing Facts about Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia.
He was named Michael King Jr. at birth, but his father later changed both of their names to Martin Luther King Sr. and Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. skipped both the ninth and twelfth grades and entered Morehouse College at the age of
4. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Morehouse College in 1948.
Martin Luther King Jr. completed his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston University at the age of
6. In 1955, he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted for 381 days and ended with the Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
The famous I Have a Dream speech was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
He was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35 in 1964.
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times for his involvement in civil rights activities.
He traveled over six million miles and delivered over 2,500 speeches in his lifetime.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite book was Plato’s The Republic.
He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance in his own civil rights activism.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a fan of jazz music, especially the works of Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
He was a vegetarian and believed in the ethical treatment of animals.
Amazing Facts about Martin Luther King Jr part 2
Martin Luther King Jr. spent his last night before his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
He advocated for the eradication of poverty and the implementation of a guaranteed basic income for all Americans.
Martin Luther King Jr. is the only non-president to have a national holiday in his honor in the United States.
He inspired the creation of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia.
Martin Luther King Jr. was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
A memorial dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. was unveiled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in 20
He was an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
Martin Luther King Jr. coined the phrase Beloved Community to describe his vision of a society based on justice, equality, and love.
He was a skilled orator and often gave impromptu speeches without notes.
Martin Luther King Jr. led the Selma to Montgomery march in 1965, which played a significant role in the passing of the Voting Rights Act.
He wrote several books, including Stride Toward Freedom, Why We Can’t Wait, and Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded more than 50 honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the world.
He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first predominantly African American fraternity in the United States.
Martin Luther King Jr. often spoke out against the Vietnam War, believing it diverted resources from the fight against poverty and inequality.
His famous Letter from Birmingham Jail was written in response to a group of white clergymen who criticized his activities.
Martin Luther King Jr. organized the Poor People’s Campaign to address issues of economic justice and poverty.
He was a strong advocate for labor rights and often spoke at labor union events.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an advocate for education and believed it was the key to ending poverty and inequality.
He frequently referenced biblical principles and used religious imagery in his speeches.
Martin Luther King Jr. was inspired by his mother’s teachings on equality and justice from a young age.
He visited India in 1959 to study Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of nonviolence.
Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
He delivered his last speech, commonly known as the I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech, the day before his assassination.
Martin Luther King Jr. loved to play the piano and was known to improvise jazz melodies.
He was a strong proponent of integrated housing and believed in breaking down racial barriers.
Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, had four children: Yolanda, Martin Luther King III, Dexter, and Bernice.
He received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1957 for his exceptional achievements in the field of civil rights.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthplace is now a National Historic Site and includes the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached.
He was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience.
Martin Luther King Jr. was initially hesitant to take on a leadership role in the civil rights movement but eventually embraced it.
His famous I Have a Dream speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century by a panel of scholars.