Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was an American Baptist minister and civil rights leader who became the most prominent public figure of the movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Drawing on Christian teaching and Mahatma Gandhi philosophy of nonviolent resistance, he rose to national attention leading the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-56 and went on to help organize major campaigns including the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his I Have a Dream speech, and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, both of which contributed directly to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his leadership of the nonviolent civil rights movement. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968 while supporting a sanitation workers strike, and is commemorated in the United States with a national holiday in his honor.
Facts
RoleBaptist minister and civil rights leader; founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1964). 1 Death PlaceMemphis, Tennessee, U.S. 1 Role
Role (category)Civil Rights / Social Leader 1 FAQs
Where did Martin Luther King Jr. first learn about Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence?
He met Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.
Martin Luther King Jr. became acquainted with Mohandas Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence during his three years at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, which followed his 1948 graduation from Morehouse College. Britannica notes that he became acquainted with Gandhi's thinking there, before he led the Montgomery bus boycott.
Was Martin Luther King Jr. born with that name?
He was born Michael King Jr., and his father, Michael King Sr., later became Martin Luther King Sr.
No. Britannica records his original name as Michael King, Jr. His father, the minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is given there as Michael (later Martin Luther) King, Sr., so both father and son carried the name Michael King before it became Martin Luther King.
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Source Wikidata: Martin Luther King Jr.
Sources
1. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaQuick Facts: Born
January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Quick Facts: Died
April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee (aged 39)
Quick Facts: Founder
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Quick Facts: Original name
Michael King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Gender
Drawing on Christian teaching and Mahatma Gandhi philosophy of nonviolent resistance, he rose to national attention leading the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-56 and went on to help organize major campaigns including the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his I Have a Dream speech, and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, both of which contributed directly to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
View the Source Wikidata: Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (Wikipedia)
In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph, lifespanQuote, In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
Infobox: born 1929-1-15; died 1968-4-4
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