| Years |
Age |
Events |
| 1929 |
0 (born) |
Born on January 15 in Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 1941 |
12 |
King family moves to 193 Boulevard in Atlanta. |
| 1944 |
15 |
Begins freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta on September 20. |
| 1946 |
17 |
Publishes letter in the Atlanta Constitution on August 6, stating black people’s rights. |
| 1948 |
19 |
Ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on February 25. |
| 1948 |
19 |
Receives BA in sociology from Morehouse College on June 8. |
| 1948 |
19 |
Begins studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, PA, on September 14. |
| 1951 |
22 |
Graduates from Crozer with BD degree on May 6-8, delivers valedictory address. |
| 1951 |
22 |
Begins graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University on September 13. |
| 1953 |
24 |
Marries Coretta Scott on June 18 at the Scott home near Marion, AL. |
| 1954 |
25 |
Begins pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL, on September 1. |
| 1955 |
26 |
Receives doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University on June 5. |
| 1955 |
26 |
Daughter Yolanda born on November 17. |
| 1955 |
26 |
Rosa Parks arrested on December 1, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott. |
| 1955 |
26 |
Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) formed on December 5, King becomes president. |
| 1956 |
27 |
Receives threatening phone call on January 27, has spiritual revelation. |
| 1956 |
27 |
Home bombed on January 30 while speaking at a mass meeting, pleads for non-violence. |
| 1956 |
27 |
U.S. Supreme Court affirms Browder v. Gayle on November 13, declaring bus segregation laws unconstitutional. |
| 1956 |
27 |
Montgomery City Lines resumes full service on December 21, King rides integrated buses. |
| 1957 |
28 |
Southern black ministers meet in Atlanta on January 10-11, King named chairman of Southern Negro Leaders Conference (later SCLC). |
| 1957 |
28 |
Appears on the cover of Time magazine on February 18. |
| 1957 |
28 |
Attends Ghana independence celebrations, meets Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah on March 6. |
| 1957 |
28 |
Delivers “Give Us The Ballot” at Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, Lincoln Memorial on May 17. |
| 1957 |
28 |
Meets with Vice President Richard M. Nixon on June 13, issues statement. |
| 1957 |
28 |
Son Martin III born on October 23. |
| 1958 |
29 |
Meets with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington on June 23. |
| 1958 |
29 |
First book, Stride Towards Freedom: The Montgomery Story, published on September 17. |
| 1958 |
29 |
Stabbed by Izola Ware Curry at a book signing in Harlem, NY, on September 20. |
| 1959 |
30 |
Embarks on month-long visit to India, meets Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on February 3. |
| 1960 |
31 |
Moves to Atlanta to devote time to SCLC, becomes assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist on February 1. |
| 1960 |
31 |
Found not guilty of tax fraud by a white jury in Montgomery on May 25-28. |
| 1960 |
31 |
Meets privately with Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in NY on June 23. |
| 1960 |
31 |
Arrested during sit-in at Rich’s department store in Atlanta on October 19, sentenced to 4 months hard labor, released on $2000 bond on October 27. |
| 1961 |
32 |
Son Dexter Scott born on January 31. |
| 1961 |
32 |
Addresses mass rally at mob-besieged Montgomery church after Freedom Riders assaulted on May 21. |
| 1961 |
32 |
Meets with President John F. Kennedy on October 16, urges second Emancipation Proclamation. |
| 1961 |
32 |
Arrested in Albany, GA campaign by Laurie Pritchett on December 16. |
| 1962 |
33 |
Arrested at Albany, GA prayer vigil on July 27-10 Aug, jailed, released after 2 weeks. |
| 1962 |
33 |
Assaulted by American Nazi Party member at SCLC conference in Birmingham, AL, on September 28. |
| 1963 |
34 |
Daughter Bernice born on March 28. |
| 1963 |
34 |
Pens “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16 in response to clergymen’s advice. |
| 1963 |
34 |
Birmingham conflict peaks on May 7, fire hoses, dogs, clubs used to disperse 4,000 demonstrators. |
| 1963 |
34 |
Book of sermons, Strength to Love, published on June 5. |
| 1963 |
34 |
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, delivers “I Have a Dream” speech, meets with Kennedy and Johnson. |
| 1963 |
34 |
Delivers eulogy at funerals of three of four children killed in Birmingham church bombing on September 18. |
| 1963 |
34 |
U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy authorizes FBI to wiretap King’s home phone on October 10. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Named “Man of the Year” by Time Magazine on January 3. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Meets with President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 18, seeks support for War on Poverty. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Invited to join St. Augustine, FL movement by Robert Hayling on February 9. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Meets Malcolm X in Washington, D.C., for the first and only time on March 26. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Book Why We Can’t Wait published in June. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Arrested and jailed for demanding service at white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, FL, on June 11. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Launches People-to-People tour of Mississippi to assist SNCC and CORE in Freedom Summer campaign on July 20. |
| 1964 |
35 |
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover denounces King as “most notorious liar,” calls SCLC “spearheaded by Communists and moral degenerates” on November 18. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Meets with J. Edgar Hoover at Justice Department on December 1. |
| 1964 |
35 |
Receives Nobel Peace Prize on December 10 at ceremony in Oslo, Norway, donates $54,000 to civil rights struggle. |
| 1965 |
36 |
Moves to 234 Sunset Avenue in Atlanta. |
| 1965 |
36 |
“Bloody Sunday”: voting rights marchers beaten at Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL, on March 7. |
| 1965 |
36 |
Leads march from Selma to Montgomery on March 17-25 after judge upholds right to march. |
| 1965 |
36 |
Publicly opposes Vietnam War at SCLC convention in Birmingham on August 12. |
| 1966 |
37 |
Moves into apartment at 1550 South Hamlin Avenue in Chicago on January 26 to highlight poor housing. |
| 1966 |
37 |
Meets Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in Chicago on February 23. |
| 1966 |
37 |
Resumes James Meredith’s “March Against Fear” after Meredith shot near Memphis on June 7. |
| 1967 |
38 |
Delivers “Beyond Vietnam” to Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam at Riverside Church, NY, on April 4. |
| 1967 |
38 |
Book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? published in June. |
| 1967 |
38 |
Reveals plans for Poor People’s Campaign on December 4. |
| 1968 |
39 |
Leads march of 6,000 protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis on March 28, march turns violent. |
| 1968 |
39 |
Returns to Memphis, delivers final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” at Mason Temple on April 3. |
| 1968 |
39 (died) |
Shot and killed on April 4 while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. |
