So, it’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we’re honoring his day by giving you 5 facts about him you probably didn’t know. Besides the fact that he is the only American whose birthday we celebrate other than Abraham Lincoln and George Washington there are so many unique facts about this historical figure. Read below for the list followed by details.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s name at birth was actually Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929.
You’re probably wondering why or how his name was changed to th iconic name we now know today. Well his father who was a Minister at Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta, GA traveled to Germany when Martin was 5 years old. While there he became inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader, Martin Luther. Upon his return Micheal King Sr. changed his name and his son’s name to Martin Luther.
Martin Luther King Jr. entered college at the young age of 15 years old.
MLK enrolled into college at Morehouse in 1944. He entered at 15 years old because he was such a bright student and skipped grades 9 and 12.
Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was not his first speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Of course you’re familiar with the widely popular March on Washington but did you know six years before his iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech King delivered a speech at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom on May 17, 1957. It was then where he delivered his first national speech on the topic of voting rights.
Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested 29 times.
I’m sure you seen the photos of King being arrested but you probably didn’t know that it happened 29 times. He was arrested for acts of civil disobedience and on trumped-up charges, such as when he was jailed in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956 for driving 30 miles per hour in a 25-mile-per-hour zone.
Marin Luther King Jr. called Boston, MA his second home.
Although King was from Atlanta, GA he called the New England city of Boston his second home. King earned his Ph.D from Boston University in ‘Systematic Theology’. Since he spent so much of his younger years in Boston studying and earning his degree he grew an affinity for ‘Bean Town’. He later returned to visit Boston on multiple occasions throughout his life.
Martin Luther King Jr. met his wife, Coretta over the phone.
A connection was made between King and Coretta by a mutual friend who set them up over a phone call. The couple later met in person for a first date. At the time Coretta Scott was studying Opera at the New England Conservatory for Music and had dreams of being a concert singer.
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