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Michael King, later known as Martin Luther King, Jr., is born at 501 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta, Georgia. -
The King family — Martin Luther King, Sr. (Daddy King), Alberta Williams King, Willie Christine King, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Alfred Daniel Williams King (known as A. D. King) — moves from 501 Auburn Avenue to 193 Boulevard in Atlanta.
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King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
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The Atlanta Constitution publishes King’s letter to the editor stating that black people “are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens.”
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King is ordained and appointed assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.King receives his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Morehouse College.King begins his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.
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King graduates from Crozer with a bachelor of divinity degree, delivering the valedictory address at commencement.King begins his graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University.
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King and Coretta Scott are married at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama.King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
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According to King’s later account in Stride Toward Freedom, he receives a threatening phone call late in the evening, prompting a spiritual revelation that fills him with the strength to carry on in spite of persecution.The U.S. Supreme Court affirms the lower court opinion in Browder v. Gayle, declaring Montgomery, Alabama bus segregation laws unconstitutional.Montgomery City Lines resumes full service on all routes. King is among the first passengers to ride the buses in an integrated fashion.
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King is awarded his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University.Yolanda Denise King, the Kings’ first child, is born.Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to vacate her seat and move to the rear of a city bus in Montgomery to make way for a white passenger. Jo Ann Robinson and other Women’s Political Council members mimeograph thousands of leaflets calling for a one-day boycott of the city’s buses on Monday, 5 December.
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