Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. His birth name wasn’t Martin – it was Michael! His father changed both their names to Martin Luther when he was 5 years old.

Martin Luther King Jr. was so smart that he skipped both 9th and 12th grades! He started college when he was only 15 years old.

As a child, Martin Luther King Jr. loved to sing. He joined his church’s junior choir when he was just 6 years old.

Martin Luther King Jr. had a paper route when he was 13 years old, making him one of the youngest paperboys in his neighborhood.

Martin Luther King Jr. learned to play the piano from his mother, Alberta Williams King, who was a talented musician and served as the choir director at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s mother, Alberta Williams, taught him how to read before he even started school!

Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a big yellow house located at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, which you can still visit today.

Martin Luther King Jr. had an amazing memory — he could recite entire Bible verses by heart when he was just 5 years old.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s father and grandfather were both preachers at the famous Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Martin Luther King Jr. went to Booker T. Washington High School, where he won a public speaking contest.

Martin Luther King Jr. graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 when he was only 19 years old.

Martin Luther King Jr. earned not one, but three college degrees before he turned 30!

During college, Martin Luther King earned two Cs in public speaking classes — but later became one of history’s greatest speakers.

Martin Luther King Jr. studied at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he was elected student body president.

Martin Luther King Jr. learned about peaceful protest methods by studying Mahatma Gandhi’s work in India.

Martin Luther King Jr. earned his Ph.D. from Boston University in 1955, making him Dr. King.

While studying in Boston, Martin Luther King Jr. took classes in philosophy and religion at Harvard University.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of the debate team during his time at Morehouse College.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote five books during his lifetime, including “Stride Toward Freedom” and “Why We Can’t Wait.”

Martin Luther King Jr. was an excellent pool player and enjoyed playing during his college years.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a big Star Trek fan and once met actress Nichelle Nichols, telling her how important her role was.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite hymn was “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” which was sung at his funeral.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her bus seat.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted exactly 381 days — that’s more than a whole year of people walking instead of riding buses!

Martin Luther King Jr. traveled over 6 million miles between 1957 and 1968 as he worked tirelessly for civil rights and equality.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave about 450 speeches every year during the height of the Civil Rights Movement — that’s more than one speech every day!

Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times during his lifetime for peacefully protesting unfair laws.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age of 35, making him the youngest recipient of the prize at that time.

Martin Luther King Jr. donated all of his Nobel Peace Prize money ($54,123) to help the Civil Rights Movement.

During the March on Washington, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t sure what he was going to say until he started speaking – the “I Have a Dream” part wasn’t even in his written speech!

More than 250,000 people came to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on newspaper margins and scraps of paper because that’s all he had in jail.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met his future wife, Coretta Scott, while they were both college students in Boston.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proposed to Coretta Scott over the phone.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King, had four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice.

All four of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s children followed in his footsteps and became civil rights activists.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the first African American to be named Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” in 1963.

As of 2019, there were more than 1,000 streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States.

Martin Luther King Jr. became a minister at age 19, making him one of the youngest ministers at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s favorite foods included fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and cornbread.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won a speaking contest in high school with a speech about civil rights — the same topic he would later become famous for.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech lasted exactly 17 minutes and 40 seconds.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, delivered on December 10, 1964, in Oslo, Norway, was recorded using the highest quality available at the time.

As of 1997-1998, there were 110 public schools in the United States named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the first modern private citizen to be honored with a federal holiday in the United States.

The King Center in Atlanta receives more than 650,000 visitors every year.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is part of the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once led a march where all the children in Birmingham, Alabama joined in — it was called the Children’s Crusade of 1963.

The longest march Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led was from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama — it was 54 miles (86.9 km) long and took 5 days!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited India in 1959 to learn more about Gandhi’s peaceful protest methods.