9 Facts About Martin Luther King Jr.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most inspirational leaders in our nation, we would personally like to honor his memory by sharing some facts about his legacy. Before getting in to the facts, we would also like to say that very few men in this nation have done as much for civil rights as Mr. King did. Set some time aside today to learn more about this great man and what he did for Civil Rights across the world.

Facts About Martin Luther King Jr. 

• Martin Luther King Jr. is the youngest person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize back in 1964.

• His name was not originally Martin, it was Michael King Jr. But after vising Germany he decided to change his name to Martin Luther King Jr. in respect to the famous German theologian.

• There are over 730 streets in the USA named after him.

• Martin Luther King Jr. was a smoker, but it is rare that you will find a picture of him smoking. This is because he didn’t want to be seen as a smoker and he didn’t want his kids to find out.

• He gave all of his prize money for winning the Nobel Peace Prize away to the Civil Rights Movement.

• Martin Luther King Jr. day wasn’t celebrated in all 50 states until 2000. Utah was the last state to observe this holiday.

• MLK is one of three people to have a national holiday in their honor. Since Washington was born in Virginia before the United States was formed and Christopher Columbus was born in Italy, MLK is the only native-born person of the three.

• Martin Luther King Jr. was placed in jail 29 times.

• As mentioned in our previous article on facts about famous authors, Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement was largely inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience’.