Genealogy and History Fan

In 1934, five years after his birth, his family discovered Martin’s name had been recorded wrong on his birth certificate. The certificate said Michael King, so his name had to be legally changed to Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1939, Martin sang with his church choir in Atlanta at the gala premiere of the movie Gone With The Wind.

He skipped the 9^th and 12th  grades in school and entered Moorehouse College at age 15.

He had Bachelor degrees in sociology and theology. In 1955 he received his PH. D. from Boston University.

From 1957 until his death in 1968, he traveled more than 6 million miles. He gave over 2500 speeches during his travels. He also wrote 5 books and had published countless numbers of articles in newspapers and magazines.

In 1964, at age 35, he was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to a Gallup poll, King is the second most admired person in the 20^th century.

In a contest sponsored by the Discovery Channel, he was voted the 3^rd Greatest American of all time.

Presently there are 730+ U.S. cities that have streets named after King.

King is 1 of 10 20^th century world martyrs who has a statue at Westminster Abbey.

Dr. King’s famous speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a hot August 28, 1963 has become so central to our American heritage that it is quoted with reverence by scholars, students and all people seeking their own inspiration from this great man.  It is impossible not to get goose bumps reading these key phrases from that historic speech.