MLK History Timeline

end

start

1983

1986

1964

1963

1955

1929

History of Martin Luther King Jr.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

The Montgomery bus boycott

On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white passenger on a bus. Inspired by Parks, King led the Montgomery bus boycott for 13 months, which led to the United States Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.

• The Montgomery city bus that Rosa Parks boarded in 1955. (Rosa Parks Bus / Chris Short / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Martin Luther King Jr. Facts

The beginning

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to a middle-class family. Both his father and his grandfather were Baptist ministers.

• A photo taken of King in 1964. (Martin Luther ing, 1964 / Nobel Foundation / The Nobel Prize / Public Domain)

Letter from Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham jail

After being jailed on Apr. 12, 1963 for helping lead nonviolent protests against segregation in public spaces in Birmingham, Alabama, King wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail about just and unjust laws to religious clergy.

• A recreation of King's cell in Birmingham jail at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. (Recreation of Martin Luther King's Cell in Birmingham Jail / Adam Jones / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nobel Peace Prize

King accepted the Noble Peace Prize on Dec. 10, 1964 for his work in peaceful protest for civil rights. One of his most notable achievements is his "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1963 March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial. Among other things, the march supported the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which banned discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin.

• King giving his famed speech during the March on Washington. (Martin Luther King Jr. - I Have A Dream Speech / David Erickson / Flickr / CC BY 2.0)

The 15 Year Batttle for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is established

On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill, which reserved the third Monday of every January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The first celebration of the holiday occurred on Jan. 20, 1986.

• Martin Luther King Jr. speaking to a crowd of 200,000 at the Washington Monument. (Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site / National Park Service / Flickr / CC BY 2.0)

Street-Photo Spotlight: Scenes From the First Martin Luther King Jr. Day in San Francisco

San Francisco celebrates MLK

On Jan. 20, 1986, San Francisco celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day for the first time. The event began with speeches by figures such as Rev. Cecil Williams and Mayor Dianne Feistein.

• The crowd at San Francisco celebrating the holiday in 2024 while listening to Mayor London Breed give a speech. Photo by Kara Kim.