- Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally named Michael King after his father. However, Michael Sr. became such a huge fan of theologian and Protestant reformation leader Martin Luther that he changed his own name as well as the name of his 2-year-old son to Martin Luther.
- King skipped both 9th and 11th grade in high school, and was able to enter Moorehouse College at age 15. He graduated at age 19 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
- King received a divinity degree from Pennsylvania's Crozer Theological Seminary. After that King attended graduate school at Boston University, where he received his Ph.D. degree in 1955.
- Becoming a minister almost didn't happen for King. He had questions of faith, and considered an alternate career as a doctor or lawyer.
- Although King is thought of as one of the greatest public speakers in history, he received a C in public speaking during his first year at seminary. Otherwise, King had straight A's and was valedictorian.
- Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on Star Trek, was encouraged by King to stay on the show because she was playing a character that didn't conform to the stereotypical African-American person of the day, usually portrayed. Rather, Uhura was portrayed as an intelligent member of the crew and an equal to those around her. Whoopi Goldberg stated that this is why she pushed so hard to become a member of the Star Trek Next Generation cast.
- King was jailed 29 times. These were for mostly acts of civil disobedience and trumped-up charges, such as driving 30 miles an hour in a 25 mile per hour zone.
- King donated all of the money he received for his Nobel Peace Prize to the civil rights movement.
- King won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for "Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam".
- His mother, Alberta Williams King, was also murdered. She was killed while playing the organ at church in Atlanta in 1974 by a 23-year-old man, Marcus Wayne Chenault, who believed "all Christians are my enemies."
- King was nearly assassinated a decade earlier than his ultimate death. While on a book tour, he was stabbed by Izola Ware Curry. The letter opener rested against his aorta, nearly killing him. King reaffirmed his nonviolent principles by saying he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.
- King was not the only person to die at the Lorraine Hotel that day. The wife of the motel owner, Lorraine Bailey, had a heart attack after seeing King shot. She was working the switchboard, which caused a delay in getting an ambulance.
- King's autopsy revealed that stress had taken a major toll on his body. Despite being just 39 at the time of his death, one of the doctors noted that he had "the heart of a 60-year-old."
- It wasn't until the year 2000 that all 50 states officially observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the last being Utah. The holiday itself was originally signed into federal law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, with the first MLK holiday on January 20, 1986.
- There are over 700 streets in the Unites States named after Martin Luther King, Jr., with one such street in almost every major city. This is not even counting the remarkable number of buildings, schools, and the like named after him.
There are many offices that remain open on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and because of that, Transcription Plus, LLC remains open, but we still honor him by remembering him.
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