Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK was born

Jan 15, 1929

Martin Luther King Jr. was born with the name of Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, GA to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King.
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Begins College

Sep 20, 1944

MLK begins college at Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of 15. He was enrolled in a special wartime program whose intentions were to admit highly qualified high school students to boost enrollment.

Married Coretta Scott

Jun 18, 1953

Married Coretta Scott at the Scott home in Marion, Alabama. MLK and Coretta met in Boston while MLK was a doctoral candidate at Boston University’s School of Theology.

Becomes President of MIA

Dec 5, 1955

Becomes president of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) just a few days after Rosa Parks’ incident on the bus where she refused to sit in the back of the bus.
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MLK's Home Bombed

Jan 30, 1956

MLK’s home is bombed while he is speaking at a meeting. His wife and daughter were unharmed. The bombing was a retaliation against MLK after the Rosa Parks bus incident and boycotting.

MLK Stabbed

Sep 20, 1958

MLK was stabbed with a letter opener at a book signing in Harlem. Izola Ware Curry, the black daughter of sharecroppers, was responsible for the act. Doctors removed the 7 inch blade from his chest during surgery.

I Have a Dream

Aug 28, 1963

MLK delivers the “I Have a Dream” speech at Lincoln Memorial following peaceful protests. There were more than 200,000 people that gathered during the speech and for the ‘March on Washington’.
Watch this video of MLK's speech.

Man of the Year

Jan 3, 1964

MLK becomes “Man of the Year” for the year 1963 by Time magazine for his leadership in the civil rights movement after the Montgomery bus boycott.
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Won Nobel Peace Prize

Dec 10, 1964

MLK won the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo shortly after the victory of passing the Civil rights Act of 1964. This outlawed discrimination in public facilites.

MLK died

Apr 4, 1968

MLK died in Memphis, TN at 39 years old. MLK was shot on the second-story balcony of the Lorraine Motel by a sniper’s bullet. He was buried in Atlanta on April 9.
Watch a video about Martin Luther King's last speech he made the night before he died.

Won Grammy Award

1970

MLK won a Grammy Award in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for his ‘Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam’ speech. In 2012, the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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