1. "I have a dream speech" was improvised
Halfway through his speech at the 1963, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" The call-out prompted King to pivot to a previous sermon he'd delivered, where he described a version of the American Dream that was equal and accessible to all citizens. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today," Dr King said.
2. His birth name was Michael King
When he was born, MLK named after his father, Michael King. But six years later, King's father visited Germany and learned about Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant reformation. He was said to have been so inspired that he returned home and officially changed both his and his eldest son's names to Martin Luther King.
3. He decided at college to be a preacher
MLK was admitted to Morehouse College at the age of 15. Generations of the King family had graduated from the prestigious all-male historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. His time at Morehouse was instrumental in awakening his passion for social and political equality and inspired him to become a preacher.
4. He was arrested more than 25 times
In his 13 years as a civil rights leader, King was arrested 30 times, largely for misdemeanours and civil protest violations, according to the King Center. Though he was often a target of law enforcement, King did not relish being imprisoned.
5. He wrote five books
According to the King Center, King wrote five books over the course of his lifetime and published numerous collections of his letters and sermons.
6. He was a Star Trek fan
Nichelle Nichols, better known as the original Lt Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, was once introduced to someone claiming to be "her biggest fan" at an awards ceremony. When she informed King she planned to leave the show, she told the Television Academy Foundation, King was adamant that she could not abandon the iconic role. "He said: 'For the first time on television we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people… who can go into space,'" Nichols recalled. "I just stood there realising every word he was saying was the truth. At that moment, the world tilted for me." She would continue in the role for years.
7. He survived a previous assassination attempt
In September 1958, King was approached by a mentally ill woman as he signed copies of his latest book, Stride Toward Freedom, in Harlem, New York City. The woman verified that he was indeed King before stabbing him with a seven-inch blade. After learning the woman was mentally ill, King said: "I bear no bitterness toward her" and instead called for her to receive treatment.
8. King's mother was also assassinated
On June 30, 1974, six years after King's assassination, a 23-year-old man shot and killed King's mother, Alberta Williams King, while she was playing the organ during a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The shooter was found guilty and sentenced to death, but was later re-sentenced to life in prison in part because of the King family's opposition to the death penalty.
9. The King family paid for Julia Robert's birth
In an interview with Gayle King, actress Julia Roberts confirmed a little-known fact about the day she was born. "The King family paid for my hospital bills," she said, adding that the Roberts and King families became close because her parents welcomed King's children into their Atlanta acting school. Later, when Julia was born and her family couldn't afford the hospital bills, King and his wife, Coretta, "helped us out of a jam".
10. He was only 39 when he was killed
Dr. King was only 39 years old when he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. He spent less than 13 years in the public eye campaigning for civil rights and racial equality. But according to the King Center, in that short amount of time he was able to bring more progress towards racial equality in the United States than the previous 350 years.
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