McGovern Library: Martin Luther King, Jr. : Martin Luther King, Jr.

Timeline of King's Life

1929

January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia

1944

September 20: King begins college at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia

1948

February 25: King is ordained and appointed Associate Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia

June 8: King graduates from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology

September 14: King begins attending Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania

1951

May 6-8: King graduates from Crozer with a Bachelor of Divinity degree and delivers the valedictory speech at commencement

September 13: King begins his graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University

1953

June 18: King marries Coretta Scott in Marion, Alabama

1955

June 5: King is awarded his Doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University

December 1: Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat

December 5: King is appointed president of the Montgomery Improvement Association

1956

January 30: The Kings' home is bombed, and King pleads for nonviolence

November 13: The US Supreme Court rules that bus segregation laws are unconstitutional

1957

January 10-11: The Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration is formed, with King named chairman

May 17: King delivers his first national address "Give Us The Ballot" at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC

June 13: King and Ralph D. Abernathy meet with Vice President Richard Nixon

1958

June 23: King and other Civil Rights leaders meet with President Dwight Eisenhower

September 17: King published is first book "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story"

September 20: King is stabbed by Izola Ware Curry during a book signing

1960

October 19: King is arrested during a sit-in demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia

1961

May 21: King addresses a rally at a Montgomery church after the Freedom Riders are assaulted

October 16: King meets with President Kennedy to urge issuing a second Emancipation Proclamation to eliminate racial segregation

1962

July 27: King is arrested at an Albany, Georgia prayer vigil

September 28: King is assaulted by a member of the American Nazi Party during the closing sessions of the SCLC Conference in Birmingham, Alabama

1963

April 16: King pens his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" after being arrested on the 12th of April

June 5: King publishes his book of sermons, "Strength to Love"

August 28: King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

October 10: US Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorizes the FBI to wiretap King's home phone

1964

January 3: King is named Time Magazine's "Man of the Year"

June: King publishes his book "Why We Can't Wait"

June 11: King is arrested and jailed for demanding service in a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida

December 10: King receives the Nobel Peace Prize

1965

March 7: Bloody Sunday occurs and voting rights marchers are beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama

March 17-25: King and other Civil Rights leaders lead marchers from Selma to Montgomery after courts uphold the right for demonstrators to conduct an orderly march

1967

April 4: King delivers the "Beyond Vietnam" speech in New York City

June: King publishes his book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?"

1968

March 28: King leads a march of 6,000 protesters in Memphis, Tennessee

April 3: King delivers his final speech "I've Been to the Mountain Top"

April 4: King is shot and killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee

Original timeline created by Stanford University's The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.

Books from the Library Catalog

Books by Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Have a Dream: Writing and Speeches that Changed the World by Martin Luther King
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97.K5 A25 1992
Publication Date: 1992
Contains Martin Luther King Jr.'s twenty most memorable writings and speeches.
Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King; Clayborne Carson (Introduction by); Martin Luther King
Call Number: Main Collection E185.89.T8 K5
Publication Date: 2010
This classic story of nonviolent resistance in America--the Montgomery bus boycott--shows how much the movement can accomplish. King shares his inspirations for the resistance in a work that inspired many and will continue to bring hope for peaceful actions.
A Testament of Hope by Martin Luther King; James M. Washington (Editor)
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97.K5 A25 1986
Publication Date: 1986
Speeches, writings, interviews, and excerpts from five of Martin Luther King's books are presented in chronological order within topical groupings.
Trumpet of Conscience by Martin Luther King
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97 .K5 1968
Publication Date: 1968
The summing-up of his creed, and his final testament.
Where do we go from here by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Call Number: Main Collection E185.615 .K5
Publication Date: 1967
Dr. King's vision extends beyond the hard issues facing the Negro rights movement today to argue the common cause of all the disinherited--white as well as black--in a nation where deprived whites far outnumber the Negro poor, and in a world where poverty, racism and militarism are still rampant. In its breadth of vision, its compassion, freshness and felicity of style, this book is a major advance along the frontier of democracy.
Why we can't wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Call Number: Main Collection E185.61 .K54 1964b
Publication Date: 1964
One of the central figures of the Civil Rights movement discusses the factors which led to the movement, and explores such concepts as freedom and nonviolent resistance.

Books About the Life and Impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Clayborne Carson
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97.K5 A52 2001
Publication Date: 2001
An autobiography of the Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Jr., compiled and edited from articles, essays, speeches, sermons, letters, and other sources, examining his private and public life and describing his involvement in many important events in the civil rights movement.
Becoming King by Troy Jackson; Clayborne Carson
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97.K5 J343 2008
Publication Date: 2008
Troy Jackson chronicles King's emergence and effectiveness as a civil rights leader by examining his relationship with the people of Montgomery, Alabama. Using the sharp lens of Montgomery's struggle for racial equality to investigate King's burgeoning leadership, Jackson explores King's ability to connect with the educated and the unlettered, professionals and the working class.
A Call to Conscience by Clayborne Carson; Kris Shepard; Andrew Young (Contribution by)
Call Number: Main Collection E185.97.K5 A5 2001
Publication Date: 2001
A Call to Conscience is a milestone collection of Dr. King's most influential and best-known speeches.
King: the Photobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Charles Johnson; Bob Adelman; Robert Phelan (Compiled by)
Call Number: Main Collection - Oversize E185.97.K5 J57 2000
Publication Date: 2000
King is the first true photobiography of a hero's journey. Never before has Martin Luther King's life been so richly chronicled from so many different points of view. A powerful array of photographic images combined with text by writer Charles Johnson, a National Book Award winner, detail the pivotal events of King's public life - as well as life with his family - in a rich and stirring format.
Knock at Midnight by Clayborne Carson; Peter Holloran
Call Number: Main Collection BV4241.5 .K56 1998
Publication Date: 1998
Includes eleven sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with "eleven important introductions by renowned ministers and theologians of our time; Reverend Billy Graham, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Bishop T.D. Jakes, among others."
Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rappaport
Call Number: Teufel Collection - Non-Fiction 923.673 K537r
Publication Date: 2001
A brief biographical sketch of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the greatest figures in the American civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King by Rosemary L. Bray; Malcah Zeldis (Illustrator)
Call Number: Teufel Collection - Non-Fiction 923.673 K537b
Publication Date: 1995
Colorful folk-art paintings add to this dramatic presentation of King's life & accomplishments. Sharing this book aloud would interest students in doing more research about Dr. King & the civil rights movement.
My Brother Martin by Christine King Farris; Chris Soentpiet (Illustrator)
Call Number: Teufel Collection - Non-Fiction 923.673 K537f
Publication Date: 2003
Looks at the early life of Martin Luther King, Jr., as seen through the eyes of his older sister.

Websites and Online Resources

The King Center

Established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King, The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”) has been a global destination, resource center and community institution for over a quarter century.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

Created by Stanford University, this site provides sermons, speeches, writings, and other documents by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Nobel Prize and Martin Luther King Jr.

The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Martin Luther King, Jr. Read through the biography, Nobel Lecture, and more.