• His first name is actually Michael and not Martin. He was born Michael King, but when his father who was a pastor visited Germany, he was inspired by the very influential Martin Luther. Later changing the name of his five year old son.
• He was actually a Doctor! King graduated from Boston University in 1955 with a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology. Systematic Theology is the attempt of putting Christian truths in logical order. 
• King was imprisoned nearly 30 times. Being a civil rights activist came with difficulties, especially in the height of racism. Over the years, King had been sent to prison many times on the grounds of civil disobedience and other charges. He was later sent to jail in 1956 for going 30 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone. 

• Long after King’s assassination, then president Ronald Reagan signed a bill that made the third Monday a national holiday in memory of King. 

• There was an assassination attempt nearly a decade before his death. In late September 1958, King was signing books in a department store when he was approached by Izola Ware Curry. Curry confirmed his identity before stabbing him in the chest with a seven inch letter opener. King spent hours of emergency surgery that saved his life. He was later told by the doctor that a sneeze could have punctured his aorta and killed him. King, in his non-violent nature, later said he felt no ill towards his assailant.  

Work Cited:    ¨ 10 Things You Might Not Know About Martin Luther King Jr.” written by: Christopher Klien