Martin Luther King: Surprising facts about civil rights icon

As America pauses to honour Dr Martin Luther King, Jr's legacy, experts accidental his combat against poorness and inequality is inactive conscionable arsenic applicable contiguous arsenic it was during the US civilian rights movement.

Here are 10 little-known facts astir the beingness and bequest of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

Halfway done his code astatine the 1963 , gospel vocalist Mahalia Jackson shouted, "Tell them astir the dream, Martin!"

The call-out prompted King to pivot to a erstwhile sermon he'd delivered, wherever helium described a mentation of the American Dream that was adjacent and accessible to each citizens.

"I person a imagination that my 4 small children volition 1 time unrecorded successful a federation wherever they volition not beryllium judged by the colour of their skin, but by the contented of their character. I person a imagination today," Dr King said.

The iconic infinitesimal would aboriginal go known arsenic the "I person a dream" speech. And determination is inactive enactment to beryllium done to genuinely unrecorded up to Dr King's imagination of equality, said Lerone Martin.

His imagination of equality is quintessentially American, said Lerone Martin, manager of the Martin Luther King Jr Research and Education Institute astatine Stanford University.

"Despite each the disparagement helium endured, King did a fantastic occupation of perpetually trying to amusement however his efforts were successful enactment with American ideals."

When calved connected 15 January 1929, helium was named aft his father, Michael King. But six years later, King's begetter visited Germany and learned astir Martin Luther, the person of the Protestant reformation.

He was said to person been truthful inspired that helium returned location and officially changed some his and his eldest son's names to Martin Luther King.

In 1944, Martin Luther King, Jr was admitted to Morehouse College astatine the property of 15. Generations of the King household had graduated from the prestigious all-male historically achromatic assemblage successful Atlanta, Georgia.

According to the King Institute, the aboriginal civilian rights person was said to person been an "ordinary" student, but his clip astatine Morehouse was instrumental successful awakening his passionateness for societal and governmental equality and inspired him to go a preacher.

In his 13 years arsenic a civilian rights leader, King was arrested 30 times, mostly for misdemeanours and civilian protestation violations, according to the King Center. Though helium was often a people of instrumentality enforcement, King did not relish being imprisoned.

He was arrested successful October 1960 aft a sit-in astatine a section store successful Atlanta and was held successful Georgia State Prison. He wrote to his wife, Coretta, from jailhouse saying that helium hoped the "excessive suffering that is present coming to our household volition successful immoderate small mode service to marque Atlanta a amended city, Georgia a amended state, and America a amended country".

According to the King Center, King wrote 5 books implicit the people of his beingness and published galore collections of his letters and sermons.

His 1964 book, Why We Can't Wait, recounted the events that led to the landmark Birmingham, Alabama, run to extremity segregation.

Nichelle Nichols, amended known arsenic the archetypal Lt Nyota Ohura successful Star Trek, was erstwhile introduced to idiosyncratic claiming to beryllium "her biggest fan" - Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Nichols had resigned from her ground-breaking relation connected Star Trek days earlier they met astatine an awards ceremony. But erstwhile she informed King she planned to permission the show, she told the Television Academy Foundation, King was adamant that she could not wantonness the iconic role.

"He said, 'For the archetypal clip connected tv we volition beryllium seen arsenic we should beryllium seen each day, arsenic intelligent, quality, beauteous people… who tin spell into space,'" Nichols recalled. "I conscionable stood determination realising each connection helium was saying was the truth. At that moment, the satellite tilted for me." She would proceed successful the relation for years.

In September 1958, King was approached by a mentally sick pistillate arsenic helium signed copies of his latest book, Stride Toward Freedom, successful Harlem. The pistillate verified that helium was so King earlier stabbing him with a seven-inch blade.

At the time, doctors said helium was "a sneeze away from death", due to the fact that the weapon was truthful adjacent to his aorta, according to the King Institute. After learning the pistillate was mentally ill, King said: "I carnivore nary bitterness toward her" and alternatively called for her to person treatment.

On 30 June 1974, six years aft King's assassination, a 23-year-old antheral changeable and killed King's mother, Alberta Williams King, portion she was playing the organ during a work astatine Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The shooter was recovered blameworthy and sentenced to death, but was aboriginal re-resentenced to beingness successful situation successful portion due to the fact that of the King family's opposition to the decease penalty.

In an interrogation with Gayle King that recently went viral, histrion Julia Roberts confirmed a little-known information astir the time she was born.

"The King household paid for my infirmary bills," she said, adding that the Roberts and King families became adjacent due to the fact that her parents welcomed King's children into their Atlanta acting school.

Later, erstwhile Julia was calved and her household couldn't spend the infirmary bills, King and his wife, Coretta, "helped america retired of a jam".

Dr King was lone 39 years aged erstwhile helium was assassinated connected 4 April 1968. He spent little than 13 years successful the nationalist oculus campaigning for civilian rights and radical equality.

But according to the King Center, successful that abbreviated magnitude of clip helium was capable to bring more advancement towards radical equality successful the United States than the erstwhile 350 years.