Martin Luther King Jr. Timeline

A Great Man Is Born

Jan 15, 1929

Martin Luther King, Jr., is born in Atlanta to teacher Alberta King and Baptist minister Michael Luther King.

An Educated Decision

May 30, 1944

Martin Luther King Jr. graduated for Booker T. Washing High Scool. He was 15 years old.

A New Beginning

Sep 30, 1944

King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Opinions

Aug 6, 1946

The Atlanta Constitution publishes King’s letter to the editor stating that black people "are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens."

New Career

Feb 25, 1948

King is ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

New Challenge

Sep 14, 1948

After receiving his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Morehouse College, he begins his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.

Next Challenge

Sep 13, 1951

King graduates from Crozer with a bachelor of divinity degree, and begins his graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University.

Wedding Bells

Jun 18, 1953

King and Coretta Scott are married at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama.

Beliefs

Sep 1, 1954

King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Challenge Completed

Jun 5, 1955

King is awarded his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University.

Baby In The Baby Carriage

Nov 17, 1955

Yolanda Denise King, the Kings’ first child, is born.

A Leader Is Born

Dec 5, 1955

At a mass meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church, the Montgomery Improvement Association(MIA) is formed. King becomes its president.

A Bright Star In Darkness

Jan 30, 1956

At 9:15 p.m., while King speaks at a mass meeting, his home is bombed. His wife and daughter are not injured. Later King addresses an angry crowd that gathers outside the house, pleading for nonviolence.

New Responsibilities

Jan 10, 1957

Southern black ministers meet in Atlanta to share strategies in the fight against segregation. King is named chairman of the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration (later known as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC).

Time To Be Recognized

Feb 18, 1957

King appears on the cover of Time magazine.

Adressing the Nation

May 17, 1957

At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King delivers his first national address, "Give Us The Ballot," at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom.

New Life

Oct 23, 1957

Coretta King gives birth to their second child, Martin, III.

A Close Call

Sep 20, 1958

During a book signing at Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem, New York, King is stabbed by Izola Ware Curry. He is rushed to Harlem Hospital where a team of doctors successfully remove a seven-inch letter opener from his chest.

A Trip of A Lifetime

Feb 3, 1959

King embarks on a month-long visit to India where he meets with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and many of Gandhi’s followers.

Dedication

Feb 1, 1960

King moves from Montgomery to Atlanta to devote more time to SCLC and the freedom struggle. He becomes assistant pastor to his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Support From Others

Jun 23, 1960

King meets privately in New York with Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.

Jail Time

Oct 19, 1960

King is arrested during a sit-in demonstration at Rich’s department store in Atlanta. He is sentenced to four months hard labor for violating a suspended sentence he received for a 1956 traffic violation. He is released on $2000 bond on 27 October.

Bundle Of Joy

Jan 31, 1961

Dexter Scott, King’s third child, is born.

A New Order

Oct 16, 1961

King meets with President John F. Kennedy and urges him to issue a second Emancipation Proclamation to eliminate racial segregation.

Assult

Sep 28, 1962

During the closing session of the SCLC conference in Birmingham, Alabama, a member of the American Nazi Party assaults King, striking him twice in the face.

A Family Complete

Mar 28, 1963

Bernice Albertine, King’s fourth child, is born.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Apr 16, 1963

Responding to eight Jewish and Christian clergymen’s advice that African Americans wait patiently for justice, King pens his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King and Abernathy were arrested on 12 April and released on 19 April.

I Have A Dream

Aug 28, 1963

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom attracts more than two hundred thousand demonstrators to the Lincoln Memorial. Organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, the march is supported by all major civil rights organizations as well as by many labor and religious groups. King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. After the march, King and other civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House.

Lives Taken

Sep 18, 1963

King delivers the eulogy at the funerals of Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Dianne Wesley, three of the four children that were killed during the 15 September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Carole Robertson, the fourth victim, was buried in a separate ceremony.

Tapped

Oct 10, 1963

U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorizes the FBI to wiretap King’s home phone.

Man of the Year

Jan 3, 1964

King is named "Man of the Year" by Time Magazine.

War on Poverty

Jan 18, 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and James Farmer and seeks support for his War on Poverty initiative.

Upholding Rights

Mar 17, 1964

King, James Forman, and John Lewis lead civil rights marchers from Selma to Montgomery after a U.S. District judge upholds the right of demonstrators to conduct an orderly march.

Why We Can’t Wait

Jun 1, 1964

King's book "Why We Can’t Wait" is published.

Injustice

Jun 11, 1964

King is arrested and jailed for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida.

People-to-People

Jul 20, 1964

King and SCLC staff launch a People-to-People tour of Mississippi to assist the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in the Mississippi Freedom Summer campaign.

Vietnam War

Aug 12, 1964

King publicly opposes the Vietnam War at a mass rally at the Ninth Annual Convention of SCLC in Birmingham.

King vs. The FBI

Nov 18, 1964

After King criticizes the FBI’s failure to protect civil rights workers, the agency’s director J. Edgar Hoover denounces King as "the most notorious liar in the country." A week later he states that SCLC is "spearheaded by Communists and moral degenerates."

Nobel

Dec 10, 1964

King receives the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway. He declares that "every penny" of the $54,000 award will be used in the ongoing civil rights struggle.

Demonstration

Jan 26, 1966

King and his wife move into an apartment at 1550 South Hamlin Avenue in Chicago to draw attention to the city's poor housing conditions.

A Meeting

Feb 23, 1966

In Chicago, King meets Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.

March Against Fear

Jun 7, 1966

King, Floyd McKissick of CORE, and Stokely Carmichael of SNCC resume James Meredith’s "March Against Fear" from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi, after Meredith was shot and wounded near Memphis.

Beyond Vietnam

Apr 4, 1967

King delivers "Beyond Vietnam" to a gathering of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam at Riverside Church in New York City. He demands that the U.S. take new initiatives to end the war.

Where Do We Go from Here

Jun 1, 1967

King’s book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? is published.

Poor People's Campaign

Dec 4, 1967

King publicly reveals his plans to organize a mass civil disobedience campaign, the Poor People's Campaign, in Washington, D.C., to force the government to end poverty.

Striking Workers

Mar 28, 1968

King leads a march of six thousand protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. The march descends into violence and looting, and King is rushed from the scene.

I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

Apr 3, 1968

King returns to Memphis, determined to lead a peaceful march. During an evening rally at Mason Temple in Memphis, King delivers his final speech, "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop."

Shot

Apr 4, 1968

King is shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

Six Feet Under

Apr 9, 1968

King is buried in Atlanta.