Martin Luther King Jr. Biography

Martin Luther King Jr., Minister
Occup.Minister
FromUSA
BornJanuary 15, 1929
Atlanta, Georgia
DiedApril 4, 1968
Memphis, Tennessee
CauseAssassination
Aged39 years
Early Life
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was the boy of Reverend Martin Luther King Sr., the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and Alberta Williams King. He was brought up in the Christian faith, and his dad's role as a neighborhood leader had an extensive influence on his training.

He participated in Booker T. Washington High School before carrying on to Morehouse College at the young age of 15. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology in 1948 and then attended Crozer Theological Seminary, where he obtained his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951. King then made a Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King
King married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953, in Marion, Alabama. Coretta was an accomplished artist, civil rights activist, and mother of their four kids-- Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice.

Coretta played a considerable function in the American civil liberties motion and continued to work for social change after her hubby's assassination in 1968.

Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, King became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. That very same year, a regional African American lady called Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus to a white individual.

King's involvement in leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott moved him to the leading edge of the civil rights motion. The boycott lasted for 381 days and eventually resulted in the desegregation of public buses in Montgomery.

Development of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
In 1957, King, along with other civil rights leaders like Ralph Abernathy and Bayard Rustin, founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC aimed to end segregation and gain civil rights for African Americans through nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

Under King's leadership, the SCLC coordinated numerous considerable demonstration projects across the Southern United States. These projects drew national attention and assistance from numerous organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).

Letter from Birmingham Jail
In April 1963, King was apprehended in Birmingham, Alabama, for his participation in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation. While in prison, he composed the well-known "Letter from Birmingham Jail", reacting to criticism from local white clergymen who described him as an "outsider" triggering problem.

In the letter, King eloquently outlined his viewpoint of nonviolent protest and argued that it was the moral duty of African Americans and their advocates to fight against partition and racial oppression.

March on Washington and the 'I Have a Dream' Speech
On August 28, 1963, King delivered his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech passionately called for an end to bigotry and the facility of equal rights for all residents, regardless of their race.

This iconic speech is still considered among the best speeches in American history and helped to seal King's status as a nationwide civil liberties leader.

Nobel Peace Prize
In 1964, at the age of 35, King became the youngest person at that time to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his operate in combating racial inequality through nonviolent means.

Assassination and Legacy
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the terrace of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His death was a terrible blow to the civil rights movement, but his work and mentors continued to inspire generations of activists and normal people.

In 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was developed as a federal holiday in the United States, commemorated on the third Monday of January each year.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s dedication to nonviolent protest and his pursuit of civil rights for all people stay an influential and integral part of American history and the international struggle for social justice.

Our collection contains 93 quotes who is written / told by Martin, under the main topics: Faith - Death - Equality - Science - Work.

Related authors: Henry David Thoreau (Author), Abraham Joshua Heschel (Educator), Nhat Hanh (Activist), Douglas Wood (Writer), Alveda King (Clergyman), Coretta Scott King (Activist), Katherine Dunham (Dancer), Henry Hampton (Activist), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Rosa Parks (Activist)

Frequently Asked Questions
  • Q: How was Martin Luther King Jr. Childhood?
    A: Martin Luther King Jr. had a stable, middle-class upbringing in Atlanta, Georgia, as the son of a preacher and a schoolteacher. He excelled academically and showed an early interest in social justice.
  • Q: Who is Martin Luther King Jr. Family?
    A: Martin Luther King Jr.'s family includes his father, Martin Luther King Sr. (a Baptist minister), his mother, Alberta Williams King (a schoolteacher), his wife, Coretta Scott King, and their four children: Yolanda, Martin Luther III, Dexter, and Bernice.
  • Q: What was Martin Luther King Jr. Accomplishments?
    A: Some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s accomplishments include leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott, giving the 'I Have a Dream' speech, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and playing a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
  • Q: How old was Martin Luther King Jr.?
    A: He became 39 years old
Martin Luther King Jr. Famous Works:
Source / external links:

93 Famous quotes by Martin Luther King Jr.

Small: A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social upl
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom"
Small: A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the in
"A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan"
Small: A man who wont die for something is not fit to live - Martin Luther King Jr.
"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live"
Small: A man cant ride your back unless its bent - Martin Luther King Jr.
"A man can't ride your back unless it's bent"
Small: A lie cannot live - Martin Luther King Jr.
"A lie cannot live"
Small: A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus - Martin Luther King Jr.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus"
Small: The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our s
"The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men"
Small: The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peac
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood"
Small: Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness"
Small: We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of th
"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies"
Small: The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have
"The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one"
Small: One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of V
"One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam"
Small: If a man hasnt discovered something that he will die for, he isnt fit to live - Martin Luther King Jr.
"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live"
Small: The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his g
"The Negro needs the white man to free him from his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt"
Small: The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: If I stop to help this man, what will happen to
"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?""
Small: Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity - Martin Luther
"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"
Small: Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek"
Small: I submit to you that if a man hasnt discovered something that he will die for, he isnt fit to live - Martin Lu
"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live"
Small: We may have all come on different ships, but were in the same boat now - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now"
Small: We are not makers of history. We are made by history - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We are not makers of history. We are made by history"
Small: That old law about an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing -
"That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing"
Small: Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity - Martin Luther King
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity"
Small: I just want to do Gods will. And hes allowed me to go to the mountain. And Ive looked over, and Ive seen the p
"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land"
Small: We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools"
Small: I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their charact
"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character"
Small: The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict - Martin L
"The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict"
Small: Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It
"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals"
Small: We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope"
Small: The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice - Martin Luther King Jr.
"The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice"
Small: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"
Small: I want to be the white mans brother, not his brother-in-law - Martin Luther King Jr.
"I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law"
Small: War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow - Martin Luther King Jr.
"War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow"
Small: If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of
"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive"
Small: When you are right you cannot be too radical when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative - Martin Luthe
"When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative"
Small: Whatever your lifes work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the un
"Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better"
Small: Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what yo
"Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality"
Small: We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, bu
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people"
Small: We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface t
"We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive"
Small: We must use time creatively - Martin Luther King Jr.
"We must use time creatively"
Small: To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing - Martin Luther King J
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing"
Small: There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth -
"There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth"
Small: There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love - Martin Luther King Jr.
"There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love"
Small: The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good
"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people"
Small: The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stand
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy"
Small: The time is always right to do what is right - Martin Luther King Jr.
"The time is always right to do what is right"
Small: The sweltering summer of the Negros legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn
"The sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality"
Small: The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and th
"The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists"
Small: The quality, not the longevity, of ones life is what is important - Martin Luther King Jr.
"The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important"
Small: The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows
"The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows"
Small: Take the first step in faith. You dont have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step - Martin Luth
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step"
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