10 Interesting Martin Luther King Facts

One of the important men in American civil right movement is seen in Martin Luther King facts. Martin Luther is famous with his speech and quotes. He struggled hard to make the position of black people equal with all white people. Let‘s see his struggle movement and personal life in the following explanation:

Martin Luther King Facts 1: Name

The original name of Martin Luther King actually is not Martin. He was Michael. His father changed the name of his two year old son after the name of Martin Luther, a historic German theologian.

Martin Luther King Facts 2: Suicide

Not all people know that Martin Luther King has a suicidal attempt when he was 12 years old. He jumped from the second story window of his home when he found out that his grandmother passed away. It was the time when his parents asked not to go out to see the parade.

Martin Luther King and Dream

Martin Luther King Facts 3: Murder

We all know that Martin Luther King was killed in Lorraine Motel on 4 April 1968 in Memphis. Lorraine Bailey, the wife of the motel owner died because of heart attack after he saw King was murdered. Another African American woman in civil movement is seen in Rosa Parks facts.

Martin Luther King Facts 4: Smoker

Martin Luther King was a smoker. There was no picture when he smoked because he did not want this habit taken by his kids. When he died, he was on the balcony to smoke.

Martin Luther King Facts

Martin Luther King Facts 5: The First Attempt of Assassination

The first attempt of assassination was conducted by Izola Ware Curry. She stabbed King in the chest a decade before he was killed in the motel. This incident occurred when he was in a book tour on 20 September 1958. See Malcolm X facts for another prominent black activist.

Martin Luther King Facts 6: Education

The 9th and 11th grade was skipped by King. He was enrolled to Moorehouse College in 1944 in the age of 15 years old. He got a bachelor degree in sociology in the age of 19 years old.

Martin Luther King Speaks

Martin Luther King Facts 7: Baptist Minister

His father was a Baptist minister. He told his father that he did not want to be a Baptist minister and wanted to become a lawyer or a doctor. But he changed his mind and entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. When he was 25, he got PhD.

Martin Luther King Facts 8: Public Speaker

It is a surprising fact that a good public speaker like Martin Luther King got C in public speaking lesson during the seminary.

Martin Luther King Speech

Martin Luther King Facts 9: A Funeral Parlor

Another unique event was experienced by King when he just married. He spent his time with his wife in a funeral parlor as the honeymoon place.

Martin Luther King Facts 10: Nobel Peace Prize

In the age of 35, King got his Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was considered as the youngest male to win it. The youngest one is Tawakkol Karman of Yemen. She got it in 2011 in the age of 32.

Martin Luther King

He got the Nobel Peace Prize because of his contribution in civil right movement. He got $54,123 but he decided to donate all cash. This man also got a Congressional Gold Medal, Grammy and a Medal of Freedom. Are you inspired by facts about Martin Luther King?