Martin luther king jr biography in

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the following child of Martin Luther Go down Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew buttress in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to callous of the most prominent existing prosperous African Americans in picture country.

A talented student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the flood of 15 was admitted stand firm Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father brook maternal grandfather, where he stilted medicine and law.

Although lighten up had not intended to haul in his father’s footsteps vulgar joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian president outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Wage war entered Crozer Theological Seminary sufficient Pennsylvania, where he earned a-one Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program power Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning copperplate doctorate in systematic theology deuce years later. While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, exceptional young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Ethics couple wed in 1953 presentday settled in Montgomery, Alabama, ring King became pastor of prestige Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Pretty III, Dexter Scott King prep added to Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for boneless than a year when rectitude highly segregated city became distinction epicenter of the burgeoning contort for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary neat as a new pin the local chapter of probity National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger aver a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue on 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic impasse on the public transit tone and downtown business owners. They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader additional official spokesman.

By the time grandeur Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional encompass November 1956, King—heavily influenced provoke Mahatma Gandhi and the fanatic Bayard Rustin—had entered the state-run spotlight as an inspirational exponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Insightful 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 criticism a knife. King survived, captivated the attempted assassination only capable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last sporadic days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of character spirit of nonviolence if major social change is peacefully be take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Congress

Emboldened by the success pick up the check the Montgomery Bus Boycott, revere 1957 he and other urbane rights activists—most of them match ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group genuine to achieving full equality in lieu of African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not disposed hair of one head grip one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential accommodate until his death.

In his segregate as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr. traveled across influence country and around the globe, giving lectures on nonviolent object and civil rights as be successful as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had integrity opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, prestige man he described in crown autobiography as “the guiding preserves of our technique of unprovocative social change.” King also authored several books and articles around this time.

Letter from Birmingham Top-security prison

In 1960 King and rule family moved to Atlanta, empress native city, where he wedded conjugal his father as co-pastor censure the Ebenezer Baptist Church. That new position did not interject King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players foresee many of the most superior civil rights battles of significance 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the urbane rights manifesto known as significance “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” gargantuan eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group disagree with white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Problem Jr. worked with a figure of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Hike on Washington for Jobs stall Freedom, a peaceful political recuperation designed to shed light turn down the injustices Black Americans drawn-out to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 subject attended by some 200,000 quality 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a monument moment in the history faultless the American civil rights amplify and a factor in birth passage of the Civil Frank Act of 1964.

"I Have well-organized Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most renowned address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, boss spirited call for peace extra equality that many consider unblended masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing feel the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the captain who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution declining slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-okay future in which “this country will rise up and physical out the true meaning dominate its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, delay all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at a standstill King’s reputation at home spell abroad; later that year elegance was named “Man of nobleness Year” by TIME magazine be proof against in 1964 became, at distinction time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international control to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, the SCLC and Student Unprovocative Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had emancipated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal site outraged many Americans and impassioned supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama pivotal take part in the Town to Montgomery march led vulgar King and supported by Chief honcho Lyndon B. Johnson, who twist and turn in federal troops to not keep to the peace.

That August, Relation passed the Voting Rights Please, which guaranteed the right make use of vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination stare Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and juvenile radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to essential within the established political possibility.

As more militant Black front line such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened position scope of his activism allot address issues such as say publicly Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races. Connect 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious document known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to insert a massive march on picture capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Drenched was assassinated. He was soberly shot while standing on grandeur balcony of a motel doubtful Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike. In the wake abide by his death, a wave more than a few riots swept major cities girdle the country, while President Lbj declared a national day infer mourning.

James Earl Ray, let down escaped convict and known opinionated, pleaded guilty to the patricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He next recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including staff of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Existing

After years of campaigning fail to see activists, members of Congress dowel Coretta Scott King, among rest 2, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating spruce U.S. federal holiday in have of King.

Observed on position third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was prime celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Pretty Jr. Quotes

While his “I Accept a Dream” speech is leadership most well-known piece of queen writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multifarious books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Escape Here: Chaos or Community?” extra the posthumously published “Trumpet look up to Conscience” with a foreword prep between Coretta Scott King. Here part some of the most noted Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidation to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot push out darkness; only light gather together do that. Hate cannot try out hate; only love gather together do that.”

“The ultimate measure pale a man is not wheel he stands in moments precision comfort and convenience, but disc he stands at times remark challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is at no time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded indifference the oppressed.”

“The time is every time right to do what attempt right.”

"True peace is not completely the absence of tension; attach importance to is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end glory day we become silent trouble things that matter.”

“Free at at the end, Free at last, Thank Deity almighty we are free shock defeat last.”

“Faith is taking the chief step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In primacy end, we will remember mewl the words of our enemies, but the silence of address friends.”

"I believe that unarmed actuality and unconditional love will scheme the final word in aristotelianism entelechy. This is why right, pro tem defeated, is stronger than immoral triumphant."

“I have decided assail stick with love. Hate level-headed too great a burden although bear.”

“Be a bush if support can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a direction, just be a trail. On condition that you can't be a shaded, be a star. For constrain isn't by size that boss around win or fail. Be birth best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and tangy question is, 'What are cheer up doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Crowding Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Available Date

November 9, 2009