Martin Luther King Jr.

Every entry, with its source

At 0

1. Jan 15, 1929

   Born Michael King Jr. in Atlanta

   His father renamed them both Martin Luther in 1934 after a trip to Germany.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 15

1. c. 1944

   Entered Morehouse College at 15

   He had skipped the ninth grade and given his first public speech, in an oratorical contest, that spring.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 19

1. c. 1948

   Graduated Morehouse at 19; entered Crozer Seminary

   A sociology degree. At Crozer he was elected student body president.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 22

1. c. 1951

   Began doctoral studies at Boston University

   In systematic theology, while assisting at Twelfth Baptist Church.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 24

1. Jun 18, 1953

   Married Coretta Scott

   On the lawn of her parents' house in Heiberger, Alabama.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 25

1. c. 1954

   Pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery at 25

   His PhD followed in June 1955.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 26

1. Dec 1, 1955

   Led the Montgomery bus boycott at 26

   It began after Rosa Parks' arrest and lasted 385 days, until the courts struck down bus segregation.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 27

1. Jan 10, 1957

   First president of the SCLC

   The Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 29

1. Sep 20, 1958

   Stabbed at a Harlem book signing

   By Izola Curry, at Blumstein's department store, while signing Stride Toward Freedom.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 34

1. Apr 12, 1963

   Arrested in Birmingham; wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail

   Begun in newspaper margins and on scraps of paper. Dated April 16; he was released on the 20th.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org
2. Aug 28, 1963

   I Have a Dream, to 250,000 at the Lincoln Memorial

   The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 35

1. c. 1964

   Nobel Peace Prize at 35

   For combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.

   Source: nobelprize.org

At 36

1. Mar 21, 1965

   Led the Selma to Montgomery march

   About 8,000 set out; 25,000 reached the state capitol on March 25. Two weeks earlier marchers had been beaten on Bloody Sunday.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 38

1. Apr 1967

   Beyond Vietnam speech at Riverside Church

   Life magazine and The Washington Post attacked him for opposing the war.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 39

1. Apr 4, 1968

   Assassinated in Memphis at 39

   He was there supporting striking sanitation workers and planning the Poor People's Campaign.

   Source: en.wikipedia.org