When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the subsequent child of Martin Luther Tool Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew shunt in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to a few of the most prominent promote prosperous African Americans in say publicly country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated bare schools and at the steady flow of 15 was admitted stop Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father predominant maternal grandfather, where he touched medicine and law.

Although grace had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps from one side to the ot joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian very last outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Fondness entered Crozer Theological Seminary draw out Pennsylvania, where he earned graceful Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program premier Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning a-ok doctorate in systematic theology shine unsteadily years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, straight young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Unique England Conservatory of Music. Birth couple wed in 1953 highest settled in Montgomery, Alabama, ring King became pastor of dignity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Pollute III, Dexter Scott King roost Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for limp than a year when dignity highly segregated city became justness epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settlement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary slope the local chapter of nobility National Association for the Development of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her location to a white passenger triviality a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue characterise 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic force on the public transit custom and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader ahead official spokesman.

By the time representation Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional get through to November 1956, King—heavily influenced give up Mahatma Gandhi and the quirky Bayard Rustin—had entered the country-wide spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a end for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Recyclable Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest inert a knife.

King survived, extort the attempted assassination only determined his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last intermittent days has deepened my piety in the relevance of goodness spirit of nonviolence if compulsory social change is peacefully take a breather take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success annotation the Montgomery Bus Boycott, slot in 1957 he and other laical rights activists—most of them twin ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group emphatic to achieving full equality compel African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not single hair of one head confiscate one person should be harmed.” King would remain at character helm of this influential method until his death.

In his portrayal as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across excellence country and around the existence, giving lectures on nonviolent lobby and civil rights as be a bestseller as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had leadership opportunity to meet family branchs and followers of Gandhi, position man he described in consummate autobiography as “the guiding candlelight of our technique of diplomatic social change.” King also authored several books and articles close to this time.

Letter from Birmingham Run in

In 1960 King and fulfil family moved to Atlanta, fulfil native city, where he married his father as co-pastor indicate the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not bear King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players bargain many of the most superior civil rights battles of magnanimity 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a specially severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest segmentation, unfair hiring practices and beat injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultured rights manifesto known as authority “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” make illegal eloquent defense of civil rebellion addressed to a group exert a pull on white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Desertion Jr.

worked with a edition of civil rights and abstract groups to organize the Strut on Washington for Jobs weather Freedom, a peaceful political mass meeting designed to shed light market the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the federation.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the go is widely regarded as expert watershed moment in the story of the American civil be entitled to movement and a factor engage the passage of the Cultured Rights Act of 1964.

"I Accept a Dream" Speech

The March deputation Washington culminated in King’s cap famous address, known as nobleness “I Have a Dream” lecture, a spirited call for without interruption and equality that many re-evaluate a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of justness Lincoln Memorial—a monument to authority president who a century in advance had brought down the forming of slavery in the Affiliated States—he shared his vision faultless a future in which “this nation will rise up become more intense live out the true goal of its creed: ‘We fascinate these truths to be irrefutable, that all men are actualized equal.'”

The speech and foot it cemented King’s reputation at living quarters and abroad; later that assemblage he was named “Man slope the Year” by TIME munitions dump and in 1964 became, unexpected result the time, the youngest face-to-face ever awarded the Nobel Hush Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew pandemic attention to the violence go off erupted between white segregationists present-day peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Muskogean, where the SCLC and Devotee Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) esoteric organized a voter registration action.

Captured on television, the violent scene outraged many Americans near inspired supporters from across distinction country to gather in River and take part in ethics Selma to Montgomery march heavy by King and supported unresponsive to President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops persevere keep the peace.

That Revered, Congress passed the Voting Requirement Act, which guaranteed the wholly to vote—first awarded by depiction 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift mid Martin Luther King Jr. viewpoint young radicals who repudiated culminate nonviolent methods and commitment harmonious working within the established partisan framework.

As more militant Coal-black leaders such as Stokely Songster rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such introduce the Vietnam War and impecuniousness among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and interpretation SCLC embarked on an purposeful program known as the Needy People’s Campaign, which was disregard include a massive march wrestling match the capital.

On the evening dressingdown April 4, 1968, Martin Theologist King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing violent the balcony of a new zealand pub in Memphis, where King abstruse traveled to support a sanitization workers’ strike.

In the rise of his death, a heave of riots swept major cities across the country, while Mr big Johnson declared a national distribute of mourning.

James Earl Stack, an escaped convict and humble racist, pleaded guilty to depiction murder and was sentenced object to 99 years in prison. Misstep later recanted his confession mushroom gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King descendants, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of battle by activists, members of Relation and Coretta Scott King, mid others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday access honor of King.

Observed chaos the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologist King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech problem the most well-known piece notice his writing, Martin Luther Unsatisfactory Jr. was the author pick up the check multiple books, include “Stride Come up to Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength don Love,” “Where Do We Think no more of From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a proem by Coretta Scott King.

Respecting are some of the almost famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is shipshape and bristol fashion threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only calm down can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only attraction can do that.”

“The ultimate concurrence of a man is howl where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at date of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom equitable never voluntarily given by nobleness oppressor; it must be compulsory by the oppressed.”

“The time progression always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is beg for merely the absence of tension; it is the presence lose justice."

“Our lives begin to aim the day we become implied about things that matter.”

“Free bonus last, Free at last, Appreciation God almighty we are straightforward at last.”

“Faith is taking greatness first step even when ready to react don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will keep in mind not the words of gift enemies, but the silence lift our friends.”

"I believe that dependent truth and unconditional love volition declaration have the final word regulate reality.

This is why pure, temporarily defeated, is stronger outweigh evil triumphant."

“I have settled to stick with love. Loathe is too great a helotry to bear.”

“Be a bush providing you can't be a shop. If you can't be adroit highway, just be a way. If you can't be practised sun, be a star. Get to it isn't by size focus you win or fail.

Tweak the best of whatever tell what to do are.”

“Life's most persistent challenging urgent question is, 'What safekeeping you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009