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Martin Luther King
| January 15, 1929 |
Martin Luther King born at 501 Auburn Avenue, home of Rev. King, Sr.
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Martin Luther King
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| April 17, 1944 |
Martin Luther King delivers a speech "The Negro and the Constitution" in Dublin, GA
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Martin Luther King
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| August 6, 1946 |
The Atlanta Constitution publishes Martin Luther King's letter to the editor in which the future civil rights leader calls for "basic rights and opportunities" for blacks.
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The Road to Integration
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Martin Luther King
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| February 25, 1948 |
Martin Luther King becomes associate minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Av. at the age of 19.
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Martin Luther King
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| June 8, 1948 |
Martin Luther King graduates from Morehouse College with a degree in sociology
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Martin Luther King
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| May 8, 1951 |
Martin Luther King graduates from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania with a divinity degree
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Martin Luther King
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| June 18, 1953 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. marries Coretta Scott in Alabama. His father performs the service.
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Martin Luther King
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| October 31, 1954 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. becomes the pastor at the Dexter Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Martin Luther King
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| June 5, 1955 |
Boston University awards a degree in systematic theology to Martin Luther King
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Martin Luther King
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| December 1, 1955 |
Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama bus.
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Martin Luther King
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| December 5, 1955 |
Martin Luther King is elected president of the Montgomery (AL) Improvement Association, which will lead the boycott of local buses resulting from the arrest of Rosa Parks
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Martin Luther King
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| January 30, 1956 |
A bomb is tossed onto the porch of Martin Luther King's home. No one is injured as a result of the explosion.
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Martin Luther King
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| November 13, 1956 |
The Supreme Court rules that segregation on city buses is illegal.
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Martin Luther King
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| January 11, 1957 |
Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, Fred Shuttlesworth, Bayrd Rustin and others meet to form the group that will become the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King becomes its president and Abernathy becomes treasurer
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Martin Luther King
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Ralph David Abernathy, Jr. |
| February 14, 1957 |
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is founded, with Martin Luther King as its leader.
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Martin Luther King
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| September 20, 1958 |
Martin Luther King is stabbed by a mentally deranged woman from Adrian, Georgia, while on a book tour in New York City.
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Martin Luther King
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| January 24, 1960 |
Martin Luther King becomes co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father, "Daddy King"
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Martin Luther King
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| April 17, 1960 |
Martin Luther King appears on "Meet the Press."
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Martin Luther King
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| May 4, 1960 |
Dr. Martin Luther King arrested for driving without a Georgia license (he had one from Alabama and lived in Georgia at the time.)
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Martin Luther King
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| October 19, 1960 |
During a sit-in at a Rich's lunch counter in Atlanta, Rev. Martin Luther King is arrested.
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The Road to Integration
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Martin Luther King
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| October 25, 1960 |
King sent to Reidsville (GA) State Prison for parole violation stemming from his May 4, 1960 arrest for driving without a license
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Martin Luther King
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| October 26, 1960 |
Robert Kennedy calls Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver seeking King's release from Reidsville Prison
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The Road to Integration
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Martin Luther King
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Ernest Vandiver, Jr. |
| October 28, 1960 |
MLK released from Reidsville State Prison
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Donald L. Hollowell |
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Martin Luther King
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| December 16, 1961 |
Martin Luther King is arrested in Albany, Georgia while attempting to desegregate public facilities in the city.
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Martin Luther King
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Albany, Georgia |
| February 27, 1962 |
Martin Luther King is convicted of minor offenses in Albany, Georgia as a result of his attempt to desegregate that city, however other charges remain pending
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Martin Luther King
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Albany, Georgia |
| July 10, 1962 |
Rev. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph David Abernathy are convicted of charges stemming from his 1961 attempt to desegregate government buildings in Albany, Georgia. He is sentenced to a 45-day jail term.
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Martin Luther King
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Ralph David Abernathy, Jr. |
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Albany, Georgia |
| July 12, 1962 |
An unidentified person pays Martin Luther King's fine, freeing him from an Albany, Georgia jail
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Martin Luther King
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Albany, Georgia |
| October 16, 1962 |
Martin Luther King meets with President John F. Kennedy to discuss the issues King is involved with.
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Martin Luther King
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| April 12, 1963 |
Dr. Martin Luther King, representing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is arrested in Birmingham, AL, for contempt of court and parading without a permit. He had come to Birmingham in an attempt to integrate public facilities in accordance with Supreme Court rulings. While in jail he composed his response to a public letter from 8 clergymen (who were white) criticizing him for breaking the law. King responded that We have waited 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights. ...it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait."
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The Road to Integration
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Martin Luther King
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| August 28, 1963 |
Martin Luther King leads a march of 250,000 supporters of Civil Rights in Washington D.C. Speaking from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King tells the racially mixed crowd "I Have A Dream." Some estimate the crowd at 400,000. This is the culmination of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and speakers other than King include Georgian John Lewis, then chairman of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).
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Martin Luther King
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| September 18, 1964 |
Martin Luther King meets Pope Paul VI in Vatican City
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Martin Luther King
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| December 10, 1964 |
Martin Luther King accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway |
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Martin Luther King
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| February 9, 1965 |
Dr. Martin Luther King meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson
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Martin Luther King
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| March 25, 1965 |
Martin Luther King addresses a crowd of 25,000 in Montgomery, AL., many of whom had been beaten earlier in the month at the Edmund Pettis Bridge.
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Martin Luther King
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| April 3, 1968 |
Dr. Martin Luther King, at the Masonic Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech
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Martin Luther King
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| April 4, 1968 |
Martin Luther King is assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee
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Martin Luther King
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| April 9, 1968 |
Martin Luther King's funeral is held in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Lester Maddox, governor of the state at the time, refuses to close the state government in honor of the slain Civil Rights leader, or attend the funeral. Maddox felt King was an "enemy of the country." The governor additionally stationed 64 riot-helmeted state troopers at the entrances of the capitol to protect "the property of the state." |
| April 9, 1968 |
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Lester Maddox |
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Martin Luther King
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| April 22, 1968 |
FBI memo orders an investigation into Ralph David Abernathy, who replaced Martin Luther King as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
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Martin Luther King
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Ralph David Abernathy, Jr. |
| June 8, 1968 |
James Earl Ray is apprehended at Heathrow Airport in London, England. He will be convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King
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Martin Luther King
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| March 10, 1969 |
James Earl Ray is sentenced for the murder of Martin Luther King. He had entered a guilty plea, waiving his right to trial. He was sentenced to 99 years.
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Martin Luther King
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| June 30, 1974 |
Alberta Williams King, mother of Martin Luther King, is shot and killed as she played "The Lord's Prayer" at Ebenezer Baptist Church
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Martin Luther King
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| July 11, 1977 |
President Carter presents the Martin Luther King's Medal of Freedom to Coretta Scott King, his wife
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Martin Luther King
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Jimmy Carter |
| October 10, 1982 |
Creation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site
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Martin Luther King
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| January 19, 2002 |
Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King and his father, "Daddy" King were co-pastors, reopens after the first phase of a restoration project
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Martin Luther King
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| June 23, 2006 |
Late in the day, City of Atlanta officials announced that a deal has been struck to purchase the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers for $32 million. The papers were scheduled to be auctioned at Sotheby’s on June 30. |
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Martin Luther King
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