A fine specimen of the thinking process of a man, this is one of those Martin Luther King quotes that truly brings out the mettle of Martin Luther King Jr., the man who altered the destiny of African Americans. But who was this man besides being a public figure? What was he before becoming the champion of the Civil Rights Movement. Find out through the fascinating Martin Luther King facts that follows.
Facts on Martin Luther King
One of the most interesting Martin Luther King Jr. facts is that both Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. were originally called by the name of 'Micheal king'. The occasion that prompted King Sr. to rechristen both himself and his son to 'Martin Luther' came 5 years after King Jr.'s birth when the family went to vacation in Germany and …show more content…
King Sr. was greatly influenced by the 16th Century German Protestant reformation leader, who protested against the reign of licentiousness that the Roman Catholic Church did nothing to stop and set up the wing of Christianity called 'Lutheranism'.
King was extremely close to his grandmother, Jennie Celeste Williams who passed away when King was only 12 years of age, in 1941. It had left King deeply shattered. A very touching account of this sad event remains illustrated in King's autobiography, where he calls this one of the moments that profoundly moved him.
Before joining college, King Jr. had worked at a tobacco firm in a bid to supplement his meager family earnings for an entire summer at Simsbury in Connecticut.
King Jr. had gotten the telephone number of his future wife Coretta from a common friend, Mary Powell, in a bid to meet what he explained as "nice, attractive young ladies". Coretta was a singer before marriage and King took her out for their first date in his green colored "Chevy".
The doctoral thesis King Jr. had submitted in the year 1955 supposedly had parts which were borrowed from works of other writers (read plagiarized). This revelation came from an inquiry unit that had been set up in the 80's to research about the authenticity of King's work, that had made him a Doctor of Divinity. One of the interesting Martin Luther King Jr. facts which shows that plagiarism maybe rampant now but it certainly isn't new!
11 years prior to his assassination, a women called Mrs.
Izola Ware Curry had plunged a paper cutter into King's chest, while he was busy giving out autographed copies of his book "Stride Toward Freedom" at a Harlem store called Blumstein’s Department Store, on 20th September, 1958. The lady was later declared to be mentally deranged.
On 4th April, 1968, King Jr. was shot, sharp at 6.01 in the evening while he stood in the balcony of room number 306 of the Lorraine Motel. This suite situated at the second floor was actually referred to as the 'King-Abernathy suite' because King and his friends inhabited it whenever they frequented Memphis, according to his companion, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, witness to King's death. King's other friend Mahalia Jackson especially crooned "Take My hand, Precious Lord" at his funeral as it happened to be his favorite hymn.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. facts are incomplete without a mention of his famous books, written during various phases of his life. In his lifetime, Martin Luther wrote all of 8 books. They are:
• "Stride toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story" in
1958
• "The Measure of a Man" in 1959
• "Strength to Love" in 1963
• "Why We Can't Wait" in 1963
• "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?" in 1967
• "The Trumpet of Conscience" in 1968
• "The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr." (edited by James M. Washington) published posthumously in 1986
• "The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr." (edited by Clayborne Carson) published posthumously in 1998