Fun facts:
- Martin Luther King Jr.'s father's name was originally Michael, as was his. He changed both their both their names to Martin Luther when King Jr. was two years old.
- King donated the $54,000 prize he received from winning the Nobel Peace Prize to fund the Civil Rights movement.
- King was the first African American to have a national holiday be declared in his honor.
- Before 2000, all 50 states did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid/day off holiday.
- He got a C in his college public speaking class.
- He still managed to be valedictorian of his class, after receiving the bad grade.
- Martin Luther King Jr. improvised his "I Had a Dream" speech almost completely, even the "dream" reference was not in his notes.
- In 1964, he was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35.
- King and his wife, Coretta Scott, spent their honeymoon in a "black owned" funeral home after being turned away by a "whites-only" hotel.
- Martin Luther King Jr. was almost killed in 1958 after being stabbed by a letter opener at a book signing. Black and white police officers and surgeons saved his life by working together.