20 Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. is widely seen as one of the greatest American leaders of all time.

His legacy continues right up to this day, long after his assassination in 1968.

A great orator, political campaigner, and leader, King's main achievement was advancing civil rights, using nonviolent methods in the style of the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi.

I hope that you enjoy reading my top 20 facts about Martin Luther King Jr. and find them interesting!

1. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.

2. King’s father was a Baptist minister and his mother was a schoolteacher.

3. He is best known in the USA and internationally for his part in advancing civil rights, using nonviolent methods in the style of Mahatma Gandhi.

4. King was an educated man with bachelor degrees in sociology and divinity, and a Ph.D. in systematic theology.

5. While studying for his Ph.D. at Boston University, MLK was mentored by the theologian and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, who was a big influence on him.

6. He met and married Coretta Scott, a music student and aspiring singer, in 1953. The couple had four children, Yolanda, Martin Luther King, III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice.

7. In 1955 Martin Luther King Jr. led a boycott of buses in Montgomery, Alabama after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man. The Montgomery Bus Boycott went on for 381 days, but eventually led to racial segregation on public buses in Alabama being lifted.

8. In May, 1957, King gave his famous "Give Us The Ballot" speech during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington.

9. King’s most famous speech is known as "I Have a Dream". He gave it in 1963, stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to a crowd of over a quarter of a million people.

10. Although King was a great man, he certainly was not a saint. Numerous accusations of extramarital affairs and womanizing were made against him and he admitted in private that he had weaknesses in this area of his life. Also, during the 1980s, an investigation discovered that parts of King’s Ph.D. dissertation had been plagiarized.

11. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his role in opposing racial segregation and discrimination through nonviolent protest and other means.

12. On March 7, 1965, King was involved with organizing a march from Selma to Montgomery in protest against a protester being killed by an Alabama state trooper the previous month. The march was blocked by state troopers and police officers and brutally beaten. The event, which came to be known as “Bloody Sunday”, was broadcast across the USA and gained the civil rights movement considerable sympathy.

13. His last great speech is known as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address and was delivered on April 3, 1968, the day before he died.

14. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, shot dead by James Earl Ray.

15. Some people have alleged that King’s murder was part of a larger conspiracy and that Ray was just a scapegoat.

16. King’s favorite song was "Take My hand, Precious Lord." The song was sung at his funeral by his friend, Mahalia Jackson.

17. Towards the end of his life, King had switched his focus from civil rights to campaigns to end poverty and stop the Vietnam War. Many of his liberal allies felt alienated by his stance on the war.

18. The Lorraine Motel, where he was killed, is now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.

19. After his death, King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

20. In 1983 a new U.S. federal holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. was signed into law by Ronald Reagan. The holiday was first observed three years later in 1986. At first some states were reluctant to adopt the new holiday, but since the year 2000, all 50 states have celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day.