Martin Luther King Jr. Fast Facts - CNN

Martin Luther King Jr. Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Updated 2016 GMT (0416 HKT) December 28, 2020

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was best known for his role in the civil rights movement and nonviolent protests. His life's work has been honored with a national holiday, schools and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on the National Mall in Washington. Take a look back at the late civil rights leader's defining years. Here, King speaks in Washington in 1968, the year he was assassinated.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was best known for his role in the civil rights movement and nonviolent protests. His life's work has been honored with a national holiday, schools and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on the National Mall in Washington. Take a look back at the late civil rights leader's defining years. Here, King speaks in Washington in 1968, the year he was assassinated.
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King outlines boycott strategies to his advisers and organizers on January 27, 1956. Seated are the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, left, and Rosa Parks, center, who was the catalyst for the protest of bus riders.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King outlines boycott strategies to his advisers and organizers on January 27, 1956. Seated are the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, left, and Rosa Parks, center, who was the catalyst for the protest of bus riders.
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King sits for a police mugshot after his arrest for directing a citywide boycott of segregated buses on February 24, 1956.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King sits for a police mugshot after his arrest for directing a citywide boycott of segregated buses on February 24, 1956.
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King stands in front of a bus at the end of the Montgomery bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 26, 1956.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King stands in front of a bus at the end of the Montgomery bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, on December 26, 1956.
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King speaks during the Prayer Pilgrimage near the Reflecting Pool in Washington on May 17, 1957.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King speaks during the Prayer Pilgrimage near the Reflecting Pool in Washington on May 17, 1957.
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Accompanied by his wife, Coretta Scott, King leaves Harlem Hospital after being stabbed near the heart on September 20, 1958. The near-fatal incident occurred when he was autographing copies of his book at a Harlem bookstore.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Accompanied by his wife, Coretta Scott, King leaves Harlem Hospital after being stabbed near the heart on September 20, 1958. The near-fatal incident occurred when he was autographing copies of his book at a Harlem bookstore.
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King delivers a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in September 1960.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King delivers a sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta in September 1960.
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King, his wife and children, Yolanda, 5, and Martin Luther III, 3, play the piano together in their living room in Atlanta in 1960.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King, his wife and children, Yolanda, 5, and Martin Luther III, 3, play the piano together in their living room in Atlanta in 1960.
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Moderator John McCaffery, left, segregationist editor James J. Kilpatrick and King debate segregation in New York on November 11, 1960.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Moderator John McCaffery, left, segregationist editor James J. Kilpatrick and King debate segregation in New York on November 11, 1960.
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King addresses a crowd of demonstrators outside the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington on August 28, 1963. He delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to more than 250,000 people.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King addresses a crowd of demonstrators outside the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington on August 28, 1963. He delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech to more than 250,000 people.
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President Lyndon B. Johnson talks with King and civil rights leaders at the White House. On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
President Lyndon B. Johnson talks with King and civil rights leaders at the White House. On July 2, 1964, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law.
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King speaks with Malcolm X at a press conference on March 26, 1964.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King speaks with Malcolm X at a press conference on March 26, 1964.
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In 1963, King became the first African-American to be named Time magazine's Man of the Year.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1963, King became the first African-American to be named Time magazine's Man of the Year.
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King receives the Nobel Prize for Peace from the president of the Nobel Prize committee, Gunnar Jahn, in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1964. At the time he was the youngest person to win the prize.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King receives the Nobel Prize for Peace from the president of the Nobel Prize committee, Gunnar Jahn, in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 1964. At the time he was the youngest person to win the prize.
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King and his wife lead a black voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 30, 1965.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King and his wife lead a black voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 30, 1965.
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King addresses civil rights marchers in Selma in April 1965.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King addresses civil rights marchers in Selma in April 1965.
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Mississippi patrolmen shove King during the 220-mile "March Against Fear" from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, on June 8, 1966.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Mississippi patrolmen shove King during the 220-mile "March Against Fear" from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, on June 8, 1966.
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King signs the Degree Roll at Newcastle University after receiving an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree, in Newcastle, England, on November 14, 1967.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King signs the Degree Roll at Newcastle University after receiving an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree, in Newcastle, England, on November 14, 1967.
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King and comedian Bob Hope, right, talk at John F. Kennedy International airport in New York on November 14, 1967.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King and comedian Bob Hope, right, talk at John F. Kennedy International airport in New York on November 14, 1967.
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Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson and others stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, pointing in the direction of the gunshots that killed King, who lies at their feet.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson and others stand on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, pointing in the direction of the gunshots that killed King, who lies at their feet.
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King's body is pictured on April 8, 1968, following his murder in Memphis. His wife, Coretta, led a silent march of 50,000 people through the streets of Memphis before making a televised speech at his funeral.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
King's body is pictured on April 8, 1968, following his murder in Memphis. His wife, Coretta, led a silent march of 50,000 people through the streets of Memphis before making a televised speech at his funeral.
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The statue of King is pictured at a memorial in August 2013 in Washington, as thousands of people gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
Photos: The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
The statue of King is pictured at a memorial in August 2013 in Washington, as thousands of people gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.
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Here's a look at the life of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Personal

Birth date: January 15, 1929
Death date: April 4, 1968
Birth place: Atlanta, Georgia
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Birth name: Michael King Jr.
Father: Martin Luther King Sr., Baptist minister
Mother: Alberta (Williams) King
Marriage: Coretta Scott King (June 18, 1953 - April 4, 1968, his death)
Children: Bernice, March 28, 1963; Dexter, January 30, 1961; Martin III, October 23, 1957; Yolanda, November 17, 1955
Education: Morehouse College, B.A., 1948; Crozer Theological Seminary, B.D., 1951; Boston University, Ph.D., 1955

Other Facts

King's father changed both of their names from Michael to Martin Luther in honor of the protestant reformer.
Youngest person, at the time, to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Author of five books, published 1958-1968.

Timeline

1948 - Is ordained a Baptist minister
1954 - Becomes the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
December 1, 1955 - Seamstress and civil rights activist Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, sparking the year-long Montgomery bus boycott. Within days, the Montgomery Improvement Association is founded to coordinate the boycott. King is elected president of the organization.
January 30, 1956 - King's house is bombed. His wife and daughter, home at the time, are uninjured.
1957 - The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is established, with King serving as president.
1960 - King moves to Atlanta and becomes co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father.
April 1963 - King is arrested for leading a march in Birmingham, Alabama. While in solitary confinement he writes an essay entitled "Letter from Birmingham Jail."
August 28, 1963 - During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King delivers his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The demonstration is attended by more than 250,000 people.
1963 - King is named Time magazine's Man of the Year.
July 2, 1964 - King stands behind President Lyndon B. Johnson as Johnson signs into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
1964 - Is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1965 - Helps organize civil rights protests in Selma, Alabama.
August 6, 1965 - Johnson signs into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
April 4, 1967 - King delivers a speech against the war in Vietnam.
April 4, 1968 - King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, by James Earl Ray.
1976 - The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Activities releases a report stating that from 1963-1968 King was the subject of extensive FBI surveillance.
1977 - Is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Jimmy Carter.
1980 - The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is established.
1983 - President Ronald Reagan signs a law making King's birthday a federal holiday, to be observed annually on the third Monday in January.
1991 - The National Civil Rights Museum opens at the site of the Lorraine Motel, where King was assassinated.
April 23, 1998 - King's assassin dies in prison.
June 2000 - Following an 18-month investigation, the Justice Department concludes that there is no evidence to support a conspiracy behind King's murder.
January 30, 2006 - King's wife, Coretta, dies at the age of 78.
June 2006 - A group of Atlanta business and civic leaders pay $32 million for a collection of King's personal papers. The papers go to Morehouse College.
November 13, 2006 - The groundbreaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington takes place. It will be the first memorial on the National Mall dedicated to an African-American.
October 16, 2011 - The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is dedicated. It is located between the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.