Martin Luther King, Jr. Timeline
Year
- Year
- Has photo
- 1968 - 1966
- 1965 - 1961
- 1960 - 1955
- 1954 - 1949
- 1948 - 1945
- 1944 - 1929
Based on King Institute chronology
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| Marker | Title | Date | Location | Description | Photo | Year | Has photo |
|---|
| Marker | Title | Date | Location | Description | Photo | Year | Has photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birth | 1/15/1929 | 501 Auburn Ave. Atlanta, Georgia | Michael King, later known as Martin Luther King, Jr., is born at 501 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta, Georgia. | 1929 | No | |
| 2 | The family moves | Summer 1941 | 193 Boulevard Atlanta, GA | 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. | 1941 | No | |
| 3 | College at 15 | 9/20/1944 | Morehose College Atlanta, GA | King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta. | 1944 | No | |
| 4 | Seminary | 9/14/1948 | Chester, PA | King begins his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. | 1948 | No | |
| 5 | Graduate student at BU | 9/13/1951 | Boston University | King begins his graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University. | 1951 | No | |
| 6 | Married Coretta Scott | 6/18/1953 | Marion, AL | King and Coretta Scott are married at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS_5.jpg/200px-Martin_Luther_King_Jr_NYWTS_5.jpg | 1953 | Yes |
| 7 | Begins his pastorate | 9/1/1954 | Montgomery, AL | King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. | 1954 | No | |
| 8 | Montgomery bus boycott | 12/1/1955 | Montgomery, AL | 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. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Rosa_parks_bus.jpg/200px-Rosa_parks_bus.jpg | 1955 | Yes |
| 9 | Give Us The Ballet address | 5/17/1957 | Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. | At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King delivers his first national address, "Give Us The Ballot," at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. | 1957 | No | |
| 10 | Meets President Eisenhower | 6/23/1958 | White House, Washington, DC | King and other civil rights leaders meet with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington. | 1958 | No | |
| 11 | Stabbed in NY | 9/20/1958 | Harlem, New York | During a book signing at Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem, New York, King is stabbed by Izola Ware Curry. He is rushed to Harlem Hospital where a team of doctors successfully remove a seven-inch letter opener from his chest. | 1958 | No | |
| 12 | Moves to Montgomery | 2/1/1960 | Atlana, GA | King moves from Montgomery to Atlanta to devote more time to SCLC and the freedom struggle. He becomes assistant pastor to his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. | 1960 | No | |
| 13 | Meets JFK | 6/23/1960 | New York, NY | King meets privately in New York with Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. | 1960 | No | |
| 14 | The Albany Movement | July 27-August 10, 1962 | Albany, GA | King is arrested at an Albany, Georgia prayer vigil and jailed. After spending two weeks in jail, King is released. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Georgia_Civil_Rights_Trail_The_Albany_Movement_historical_marker.JPG/200px-Georgia_Civil_Rights_Trail_The_Albany_Movement_historical_marker.JPG | 1962 | Yes |
| 15 | Assaulted by Nazi | 9/28/1962 | Birmingham, AL | During the closing session of the SCLC conference in Birmingham, Alabama, a member of the American Nazi Party assaults King, striking him twice in the face. | 1962 | No | |
| 16 | Letter from Birmingham Jail | 4/16/1963 | Birmingham, AL | Responding to eight Jewish and Christian clergymen’s advice that African Americans wait patiently for justice, King pens his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King and Abernathy were arrested on 12 April and released on 19 April. | 1963 | No | |
| 17 | The March on Washington | 8/28/1963 | Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC | The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom attracts more than two hundred thousand demonstrators to the Lincoln Memorial. Organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, the march is supported by all major civil rights organizations as well as by many labor and religious groups. King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. After the march, King and other civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/USMC-09611.jpg/200px-USMC-09611.jpg | 1963 | Yes |
| 18 | Eulogy for Bombing Victims | 9/18/1963 | Birmingham, AL | King delivers the eulogy at the funerals of Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Dianne Wesley, three of the four children that were killed during the 15 September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Carole Robertson, the fourth victim, was buried in a separate ceremony. | 1963 | No | |
| 19 | Meet Malcolm X | 3/26/1964 | Washington, DC | King meets Malcolm X in Washington, D.C. for the first and only time. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/MLK_and_Malcolm_X_USNWR_cropped-2.jpg/200px-MLK_and_Malcolm_X_USNWR_cropped-2.jpg | 1964 | Yes |
| 20 | Arrested in Florida | 6/11/1964 | St. Augustine, FL | King is arrested and jailed for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida. | 1964 | No | |
| 21 | Bloody Sunday | 3/7/1965 | Selma, AL | In an event that will become known as "Bloody Sunday," voting rights marchers are beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as they attempt to march to Montgomery. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Bloody_Sunday-Alabama_police_attack.jpeg/200px-Bloody_Sunday-Alabama_police_attack.jpeg | 1965 | Yes |
| 22 | King moves his family | 12/30/1965 | 234 Sunset Avenue Atlanta., GA | The King family moves to their new home at 234 Sunset Avenue in Atlanta. | 1965 | No | |
| 23 | Kings move to Chicago | 1/26/1966 | 1550 South Hamlin Avenue Chicago, IL | King and his wife move into an apartment at 1550 South Hamlin Avenue in Chicago to draw attention to the city's poor housing conditions. | 1966 | No | |
| 24 | James Meredith shot | 6/7/1966 | Memphis, TN | King, Floyd McKissick of CORE, and Stokely Carmichael of SNCC resume James Meredith’s "March Against Fear" from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi, after Meredith was shot and wounded near Memphis. | 1966 | No | |
| 25 | Poor People's Campaign revealed | 12/4/1967 | Washington, DC | King publicly reveals his plans to organize a mass civil disobedience campaign, the Poor People's Campaign, in Washington, D.C., to force the government to end poverty. | 1967 | No | |
| 26 | March leads to looting | 3/28/1968 | Memphis, TN | King leads a march of six thousand protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. The march descends into violence and looting, and King is rushed from the scene. | 1968 | No | |
| 27 | I've been to the mountaintop | 4/3/1968 | Memphis, TN | King returns to Memphis, determined to lead a peaceful march. During an evening rally at Mason Temple in Memphis, King delivers his final speech, "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop." | 1968 | No | |
| 28 | Assassination | 4/4/1968 | Lorraine Motel Memphis, TN | King is shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Lorraine_Motel_04_15_Mar_2012.jpg/200px-Lorraine_Motel_04_15_Mar_2012.jpg | 1968 | Yes |
| 29 | Burial | 4/9/1968 | The King Center Atlanta, GA | King is buried in Atlanta. | https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Tombstone_for_Martin_Luther_King_%26_Coretta_Scott_King_at_MLK_Historic_Site_in_Atlanta.JPG/200px-Tombstone_for_Martin_Luther_King_%26_Coretta_Scott_King_at_MLK_Historic_Site_in_Atlanta.JPG | 1968 | Yes |
1
Birth
Date: 1/15/1929
Description: Michael King, later known as Martin Luther King, Jr., is born at 501 Auburn Ave. in Atlanta, Georgia.
Year: 1929
Has photo: No
2
The family moves
Date: Summer 1941
Description: 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.
Year: 1941
Has photo: No
3
College at 15
Date: 9/20/1944
Description: King begins his freshman year at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Year: 1944
Has photo: No
4
Seminary
Date: 9/14/1948
Description: King begins his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Year: 1948
Has photo: No
5
Graduate student at BU
Date: 9/13/1951
Description: King begins his graduate studies in systematic theology at Boston University.
Year: 1951
Has photo: No
6
Married Coretta Scott
Date: 6/18/1953
Description: King and Coretta Scott are married at the Scott home near Marion, Alabama.
Year: 1953
Has photo: Yes
7
Begins his pastorate
Date: 9/1/1954
Description: King begins his pastorate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Year: 1954
Has photo: No
8
Montgomery bus boycott
Date: 12/1/1955
Description: 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.
Year: 1955
Has photo: Yes
9
Give Us The Ballet address
Date: 5/17/1957
Description: At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., King delivers his first national address, "Give Us The Ballot," at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom.
Year: 1957
Has photo: No
10
Meets President Eisenhower
Date: 6/23/1958
Description: King and other civil rights leaders meet with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington.
Year: 1958
Has photo: No
11
Stabbed in NY
Date: 9/20/1958
Description: During a book signing at Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem, New York, King is stabbed by Izola Ware Curry. He is rushed to Harlem Hospital where a team of doctors successfully remove a seven-inch letter opener from his chest.
Year: 1958
Has photo: No
12
Moves to Montgomery
Date: 2/1/1960
Description: King moves from Montgomery to Atlanta to devote more time to SCLC and the freedom struggle. He becomes assistant pastor to his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Year: 1960
Has photo: No
13
Meets JFK
Date: 6/23/1960
Description: King meets privately in New York with Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy.
Year: 1960
Has photo: No
14
The Albany Movement
Date: July 27-August 10, 1962
Description: King is arrested at an Albany, Georgia prayer vigil and jailed. After spending two weeks in jail, King is released.
Year: 1962
Has photo: Yes
15
Assaulted by Nazi
Date: 9/28/1962
Description: During the closing session of the SCLC conference in Birmingham, Alabama, a member of the American Nazi Party assaults King, striking him twice in the face.
Year: 1962
Has photo: No
16
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Date: 4/16/1963
Description: Responding to eight Jewish and Christian clergymen’s advice that African Americans wait patiently for justice, King pens his "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King and Abernathy were arrested on 12 April and released on 19 April.
Year: 1963
Has photo: No
17
The March on Washington
Date: 8/28/1963
Description: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom attracts more than two hundred thousand demonstrators to the Lincoln Memorial. Organized by A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin, the march is supported by all major civil rights organizations as well as by many labor and religious groups. King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. After the march, King and other civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy and Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House.
Year: 1963
Has photo: Yes
18
Eulogy for Bombing Victims
Date: 9/18/1963
Description: King delivers the eulogy at the funerals of Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, and Cynthia Dianne Wesley, three of the four children that were killed during the 15 September bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Carole Robertson, the fourth victim, was buried in a separate ceremony.
Year: 1963
Has photo: No
19
Meet Malcolm X
Date: 3/26/1964
Description: King meets Malcolm X in Washington, D.C. for the first and only time.
Year: 1964
Has photo: Yes
20
Arrested in Florida
Date: 6/11/1964
Description: King is arrested and jailed for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida.
Year: 1964
Has photo: No
21
Bloody Sunday
Date: 3/7/1965
Description: In an event that will become known as "Bloody Sunday," voting rights marchers are beaten at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama as they attempt to march to Montgomery.
Year: 1965
Has photo: Yes
22
King moves his family
Date: 12/30/1965
Description: The King family moves to their new home at 234 Sunset Avenue in Atlanta.
Year: 1965
Has photo: No
23
Kings move to Chicago
Date: 1/26/1966
Description: King and his wife move into an apartment at 1550 South Hamlin Avenue in Chicago to draw attention to the city's poor housing conditions.
Year: 1966
Has photo: No
24
James Meredith shot
Date: 6/7/1966
Description: King, Floyd McKissick of CORE, and Stokely Carmichael of SNCC resume James Meredith’s "March Against Fear" from Memphis to Jackson, Mississippi, after Meredith was shot and wounded near Memphis.
Year: 1966
Has photo: No
25
Poor People's Campaign revealed
Date: 12/4/1967
Description: King publicly reveals his plans to organize a mass civil disobedience campaign, the Poor People's Campaign, in Washington, D.C., to force the government to end poverty.
Year: 1967
Has photo: No
26
March leads to looting
Date: 3/28/1968
Description: King leads a march of six thousand protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. The march descends into violence and looting, and King is rushed from the scene.
Year: 1968
Has photo: No
27
I've been to the mountaintop
Date: 4/3/1968
Description: King returns to Memphis, determined to lead a peaceful march. During an evening rally at Mason Temple in Memphis, King delivers his final speech, "I’ve Been to the Mountaintop."
Year: 1968
Has photo: No
28
Assassination
Date: 4/4/1968
Description: King is shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
Year: 1968
Has photo: Yes
29
Burial
Date: 4/9/1968
Description: King is buried in Atlanta.
Year: 1968
Has photo: Yes