Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968 Nationality: American Occupation: civil rights leader Occupation: minister (religion) Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in the Atlanta home of his maternal grandfather, Adam Daniel Williams (1863 — 1931). He was the second child and the first son of Michael King Sr. (1897 — 1984) and Alberta Christine Williams King (1903 — 1974). Michael Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine (b. 1927), and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams (b. 1930). The father and later the son adopted the name Martin Luther, after the religious figure who founded the Lutheran denomination. The family background was rooted in rural Georgia. A.D. Williams was already …show more content…
On May 1, 1936, King joined his father's church, being baptized two days later. His conversion was not dramatic — he simply followed his sister when she went forward. A period of questioning religion began with adolescence and lasted through his early college years. He felt uncomfortable with overly emotional religion, and this discomfort initially led him to decide against entering the ministry. Jennie Williams, King Jr.'s grandmother, died of a heart attack on May 18, 1941, during a Woman's Day program at Ebenezer. The death was traumatic for her grandson, especially since it happened while he was watching a parade despite his parents' prohibitions. Distraught, he seems to have attempted suicide by leaping from a second-story window of the family home. He wept on and off for days and had difficulty sleeping. King studied in the public schools of Atlanta, spent time at the Atlanta Laboratory School until it closed in 1942, and then entered public high school in the tenth grade, skipping a grade. After completing his junior year at Booker T. Washington High School, he entered Morehouse College in the fall of 1944 at the age of 15. Since the war had taken away most young men, Morehouse, a men's college, turned to young entrants in desperation. Attends Morehouse The five-foot seven-inch tall King was a ladies' man and loved to dance. He was an indifferent student who completed Morehouse with a grade point average of 2.48 on a
Born as Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. The King and Williams families were rooted in rural Georgia. Martin Jr.'s grandfather, A.D. Williams, was a rural minister for years and then moved to Atlanta in 1893. He took over the small, struggling Ebenezer Baptist church with around 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. He married Jennie Celeste Parks and they had one child that survived, Alberta. Michael King
Martin Luther King (MLK) was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia and changed his name from Michael to Martin so he could honor a German reformer, Martin Luther. Martin was a middle child with an older sister, Willie Christine King, and younger brother, Daniel Williams King. He loved to sing and listen to music so his Mother, Alberta took him to various churches to sing. King was educated in Atlanta, graduating from Booker T Washington high school. After graduating, he enrolled in Morehouse College, where his grandfather studied. He was going to at first, study medicine or law but decided to major in sociology later he found ministry irresistible, so he served as an assistant to his father at Ebenezer while
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. He was born to Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. King Jr. had an older sister, Willie Christine King, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T. Washington High School. A very intelligent student, he skipped both the 9th and the 12th grade and entered Morehouse College at fifteen without graduating from high school. In 1948, he
King was such a gifted student that he skipped grades nine and 12 before enrolling in 1944 at Morehouse College, the alma mater of his father and maternal grandfather. Although he was the son, grandson and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, King did not intend to follow the family vocation until Morehouse president Benjamin E. Mays, a noted theologian, convinced him otherwise. King was ordained before graduating college with a degree in sociology.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s real name was Michael. His father changed his name to Martin in honor of Martin Luther from the Holy Roman Empire after visiting Germany. When King was 12 years old he attempted suicide by jumping off the second floor window of his house. He was devastated by his grandmother’s death. Even though George Washington was born in Virginia, King is the only United States native to have a holiday in his rememberance. Washington was born before the United States was established a country.
Martin Luther King Jr. born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia with the name of Michael King Jr.. He was the second child of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. His father was a minister of Ebenezer Baptist church and with Martin spent a lot of time in church. He grew up in a period in United States when african americans suffered from segregation and discrimination. In 1953, he married Coretta Scott and they had four children. Martin was inspired to fight for the civil rights with non-violence of Mahamat Ghandi. In 1964, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He died on the evening of April 4, 1968; he was shot in Memphis, Tennessee.
King was one of the most important people in the civil rights movement and led to greatly change the country. He helped create equality for all. King never got to see what his work lead to though, because on April 4, 1968 he was murdered right in front of the door to his motel room. King might not have seen the world that he helped create through his work, but everyone alive today can. He has shown us that if the cause is just and your will is strong anything is
In conclusion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brought the county together to fight for the cause of equal rights. Dr. King was fatally shot on April 4th, 1968 when he was on the balcony of his hotel. The country went to rioting as soon as Dr. King died and the country was a madhouse that day (Bio.com). The man who shot King was a Southerner named James Earl Ray who died 30 years after the shooting (kingencyclopedia.stanford). Dr. King did many things over the course of his life but most importantly he got his dream accomplished by the 15th
What do you think convinced Martin Luther King into becoming the man he is known as today? There were many different reasons that made him this way and I will explain them throughout this essay. First off Martin Luther King had good surroundings while growing up. Secondly, he was very optimistic and he was a bright learner. Third of all, as he grew older he was noticing his surroundings more and more, this had given him the will to speak up. Basically, this man was intelligent, optimistic, and courageous. In this time period, it was very hard to grow successful because of the mistreatment going on. But, M.L.K was one of the very strong leaders who fought to change that. In my first paragraph, I will talk about how this man was intelligent
Martin Luther King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929 as the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He, like Reagan, was born in a rural area and grew up in a faith-filled family with a legacy of Baptist ministers. In 1944, at the age of fifteen, King entered Morehouse College in Atlanta. As a pastor’s son, Martin rejected the idea of going into ministry until he took a Bible class in his junior year, which renewed his faith and give him a vision for a life in ministry. He earned a degree in sociology in 1948 and then attended the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. He met Coretta Scott while working on his doctorate and married her in 1953. He became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954 and obtained his Ph.D. in 1955 at the age of twenty-five (Martin Luther King, Jr., 2014, April 20).
When growing up, King Jr. saw a lot of racism. His father, King Sr. fought against racial prejudice. He did not think racism was wrong just because he was black but also because he thought that it was not God’s will. At age 15, in 1944, King Jr. started attending Morehouse College. At this time, even though his family was very involved in the church, King Jr. started to question religion.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” Michael Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His parents’ names were Alberta Williams and Martin Luther. You may be asking, who is Michael? That is the name Martin Luther King Junior was born with, but then had his name changed by his father when he was five years old. He grew up to be a very intelligent and gifted student because he skipped grades nine through twelve as he entered college at age fifteen. He then got a bachelor’s degree in sociology four years later, at age nineteen. As he grew up a little more, he went on in his life as a baptist minister. He then died on April 4th, 1968, at a very young
Following his father footsteps, Martin Luther King, Jr. decided to become a minister. Motivated by theological and social ideals, King, Jr attended Morehouse College from 1944 to 1948. Three years later, he started his doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University. Soon, King, Jr. began to show interest for civil rights and was often invited to give sermons in different places, in which he acquired a reputation as a powerful
Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia with mom, Alberta Williams, and dad, Michael King Sr. “Young Martin had an older sister, Willie Christine, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King.” (Martin Luther King Jr. Biography)Martin’s grandfather was also a minister who took over the Ebenezer baptist church. It was then passed down to Martin’s father after his grandfather died and also became a very successful minister. This might have played into Martin himself becoming a minister in his later life. His father also fought for equal rights for blacks which also played into how he ended up. “In May, 1941, Martin was 12 years old when his grandmother, Jennie, died of a heart attack.” Martin was at a parade against
He started college at the age of 15, and even though his family was involved in church, he questioned religion. Martin was uncomfortable with the overly emotional displays of religious worship. Because of this he did not want to followed in his father’s footsteps and become a minister. But in his junior year of college he took a bible class. Taking the class renewed his faith and began his career in ministry. Martin Luther King earned his degree in sociology from Morehouse College. He also attended the Liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester,