Receives degree from Crozer Theological Seminary enrolls in Boston University Ph.D program
Marries New England Conservatory music student Coretta Scott; they eventually have four children
Becomes minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama
Receives Ph.D in systematic theology from Boston University.
The 26-year-old King leads boycott of segregated Montgomery buses, gains national reputation.
The 26-year-old King leads boycott of segregated Montgomery buses, gains national reputation.
Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in education and employment. King receives Nobel Peace Prize.
King and SCLC join voting-rights march from Selma to Montgomery; police beat and tear gas marchers; King addresses rally before state capitol, builds support for voting rights.
Growing popularity of the black power movement, blacks stressing self-reliance and self-defense, indicates King's influence was declining, especially among young blacks.
King is assassinated in Memphis, during visit to support striking black garbage collectors; violent riots erupt in more than 100 U.S. cities
IP James Earl Ray pleads guilty to King's murder, receives 99-year sentence.
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site established in Atlanta, includes his birthplace, Ebenezer Church, and the King Center.