How old is Martin Luther King Jr.?

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American activist and civil rights advocate, who was also known as Baptist Minister of the SCLC. He was born in 1929 in Georgia and had a very difficult childhood, with plenty of problems both in the family and in his social surrounding. In 1951 he graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary and continued his Doctoral studies for a few next years. In 1957 he became the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and started heading social activities on the local level: in particular, fights against segregation, poverty, improper external politics of American government, as well as supporting the rights of working people in the country. In the early 1960s, he was among those who organized a few protest activities, including the famous march to Washington, which was the time when King made his I Have a Dream speech. Shortly after he received Noble Prize for Peace, and he still is considered one of the founders of "non-violent protest" strategy for demanding changes. In the second half of the 1960s King and his organization members carried out a few more activities, in particular, against the war in Vietnam, and his charismatic personality started attracting the attention of governmental services, which began suspecting him in connections with the Communists, etc. In winter 1968 King was assassinated in Memphis, during the events supporting his anti-poverty campaign. King's assassination caused plenty of unrest in many big cities. After his death, Martin Luther King was granted a large number of awards and recognition, for his large legacy and contribution to changing the world for the better.

Related Important People Birthdays