Martin Luther King Jr’s name comes in first on the list of most inspirational leaders in the history book. He had such a huge impact on the whole world, which made him the greatest leader of all time. We can learn a lot of lessons from his everyday life and events. To help you with that, we have piled up some of the most interesting facts, biography, and speeches of this legendary person below.
Martin Luther King Jr facts
Let’s check out some fascinating facts about Martin Luther King Jr.
- He is mostly known for his civil rights accomplishments all over the world.
- Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a few phenomenal books that are still widely sold all over the world.
- He became pastor at the age of 19 in Ebenezer Baptist Church.
- In his short lifetime, Martin Luther King Jr. became the father of 4 children.
- He was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Leaving his pastoral position in Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. went back to Atlanta in 1960.
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Martin Luther King Biography
In the following sections, we’ll discuss the biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in great detail.
Early Life
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He studied in local schools and went to Morehouse College at the age of 15. He also earned his B.A. degree from there as well.
He struggled a lot in his early life. His grandmother died of a heart attack when he was 12 years old, and it was devastating for him. In his college days, he got quite popular among other students. Especially those who were unmotivated towards their life.
At the age of 19, he started serving as a co-pastor in Ebenezer prior with his father. He also continued his study during that time.
Professional Life
His professional life was perhaps one of the most impactful ones for the whole world. He was a social activist who brought civil rights and nonviolence to people. His leadership as a civil rights leader is still followed by leaders all across the world.
He became involved in the African American civil rights protest and helped them with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. Since then, he was actively working for a better world where everyone can live equally without any discrimination of color and race.
In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel peace prize, which is the highest honorable prize in the world. He was only 35 years old when he got the prize, and he is the youngest person who got the Nobel prize in his time.
He was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and worked for people’s rights. He organized a lot of peaceful marches and protests, and his March on Washington in 1963 is one of the most recognizable ones to this day.
Personal Life
In his personal life, Martin Luther King was a nice and caring person. He married Coretta Scott King on June 18, 1953 who was an amazing father of 4 kids.
In his lifetime, he did so much for the people and society. He dedicated his entire life to serving others, bringing better things to the world, to secure a better future.
But on 4 April 1968, he was shot to death while he was standing on a balcony. It was a peaceful Thursday evening until this horrific event took place. The world mourned for losing such a great leader that day.
Martin Luther King Speeches
Now that you know about the life and biography of the legend Martin Luther King Jr., it’s time to learn about what made him such a legend even after death. In his lifetime, he delivered 11 speeches in total.
His speech “I Have a Dream” is considered the greatest speech of all time, and it’s undoubtedly one of the revolutionary things that helped to change the face of the earth we live in today. Let’s check out a few lines from his legendary speeches below.
- “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
- “You can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”
- “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.”
- “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
- “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
At the end, Very few men had such a massive influence over the world such as Martin Luther King Jr. Hopefully, these facts, bio, and speeches help you to understand that fact better.