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| 1929 | Birth |  |
| 15th Jan Atlanta Birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., born to teacher Alberta King and Baptist minister Michael Luther King |
| 1953 | Pastor | |
| Atlanta Appointed Pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama |
| 1955 | Education | |
| Boston Receives Ph.D in systematic theology from Boston University |
| 1955 | Montgomery Bus Boycott | |
| Montgomery The boycott lasts for 381 days, the situation becoming so tense that King's house is bombed, King is arrested during this campaign, which ends with a United States Supreme Court decision outlawing racial segregation on all public transport. |
| 1st Dec Montgomery The Montgomery Bus Boycott, urged and planned by ED Nixon (head of the Montgomery NAACP chapter and a member of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters) and led by Martin Luther King follows Rosa Parks ' arrest |
| 1956 | Montgomery Bus Boycott | |
| Montgomery The US. Supreme Court ruling prompts Montgomery to desegregate buses |
| 1957 | Southern Christian Leadership Conference | |
| King helps found Southern Chris tian Leadership Conference (SCLC), reated to harness the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform |
| King is an adherent of the philosophies of nonviolent civil disobedience used successfully in India by Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, and applies this philosophy to the protests organized by the SCLC |
| 1958 | Montgomery Bus Boycott | |
| Montgomery Writes "Stride Toward Freedom", about the bus boycott |
| 1959 | Civil Disobedience | |
| Visits India to study nonviolence and civil disobedience |
| 1959 | Publication | |
| Writes "The Measure of A Man", from which the piece "What is Man?", an attempt to sketch the optimal political, social, and economic structure of society, is derived |
| 1960 | Pastor | |
| Atlanta Joins his father as co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta |
| 1961 | Southern Christian Leadership Conference | |
| The FBI begins wiretapping King fearing that Communists are trying to infiltrate the Civil Rights Movement, when no such evidence emerges, the bureau uses incidental details caught on tape over six years in attempts to force King out of the SLCLC |
| 1963 | Arrest | |
| Birmingham King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham; writes Letter From Birmingham City Jail, arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust. laws |
| 1963 | Civil Disobedience | |
| Washington Delivers "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington attended by 200,000 protesters, creates powerful image, builds momentum for civil rights legislation |
| Birmingham King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham; writes Letter From Birmingham City Jail, arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust. laws |
| King, representing the SCLC, is among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who are instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom |
| 1963 | Demonstrations | |
| Washington At the time, it the largest gathering of protesters in Washington's history, King's "I Have a Dream" speech electrified the crowd |
| Birmingham Begins the campaign for black civil right |
| Washington Delivers "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington attended by 200,000 protesters, creates powerful image, builds momentum for civil rights legislation |
| Washington Demands include an end to racial segregation in public school; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality & a $2 minimum wage |
| Washington King, representing the SCLC, is among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who are instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom |
| Washington More than a quarter million people of diverse ethnicities attend the event, sprawling from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall and around the reflecting pool |
| Washington The Leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were are ML King, Roy Wilkins , NAACP; Whitney Young, Jr., Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis , SNCC & James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality |
| 28th Aug Washington 250,000 civil rights supporters join the "March on Washington" |
| 1963 | Publication | |
| Birmingham King is arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham; writes Letter From Birmingham City Jail, arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust. laws |
| 1963 | Southern Christian Leadership Conference | |
| King, representing the SCLC, is among the leaders of the so-called "Big Six" civil rights organizations who are instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom |
| 1963 | Speech | |
| 28th Aug Washington Makes the "I have a dream speech" |
| 1964 | Civil Rights Act | |
| Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in education and employment |
| 1964 | Legislation | |
| Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in education and employment |
| 1964 | Nobel Prize | |
| 14th Oct The youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States |
| 1964 | Publication | |
| Publishes "Why We Can't Wait" |
| 1964 | Reform | |
| Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1964, outlawing segregation in public accommodations and discrimination in education and employment |
| 1965 | American Liberties Medallion | |
| The American Jewish Committee presented King with the American Liberties Medallion for his "exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty" |
| 1965 | Black Power | |
| 25th Mar Montgomery The march finally goes ahead fully, it is during this march that Willie Ricks coins the phrase "Black Power" |
| 1965 | Bloody Sunday | |
| 7th Mar King is not present, after meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson, he attempts to delay the march until March 8, but the march was carried out against his wishes and without his presence by local civil rights workers |
| 7th Mar King, the SCLC & SNCC organize a march from Selma to Montgomery, the first attempt to march is aborted because of mob and police violence against the demonstrations ends in Bloody Sunday |
| 1965 | Demonstrations | |
| Montgomery King and SCLC join voting-rights march from Selma to Montgomery; police beat and tear gas marchers; King addresses rally before state capitol, builds support for voting rights |
| 7th Mar King is not present, after meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson, he attempts to delay the march until March 8, but the march was carried out against his wishes and without his presence by local civil rights workers |
| 7th Mar King, the SCLC & SNCC organize a march from Selma to Montgomery, the first attempt to march is aborted because of mob and police violence against the demonstrations ends in Bloody Sunday |
| 25th Mar Montgomery On the steps of the state capitol building, King delivers a speech that has become known as "How Long, Not Long" |
| 25th Mar Montgomery The march finally goes ahead fully, it is during this march that Willie Ricks coins the phrase "Black Power" |
| 1965 | Legislation | |
| Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1965, which suspends (later bans) literacy tests and other restrictions to prevent blacks from voting |
| 1965 | Reform | |
| Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1965, which suspends (later bans) literacy tests and other restrictions to prevent blacks from voting |
| 1965 | Voting Rights Act | |
| Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1965, which suspends (later bans) literacy tests and other restrictions to prevent blacks from voting |
| 1966 | Chicago Freedom Movement, The | |
| The SCLC forms a coalition with CCCO, Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, an organization founded by Albert Raby, the combined organizations' efforts are fostered under the aegis of The Chicago Freedom Movement (CFM) |
| 1966 | Civil Disobedience | |
| Growing popularity of the black power movement, blacks stressing self-reliance and self-defense, indicates King's influence was declining, especially among young blacks |
| King turns toward economic issues; SCLC moves civil rights struggle to the North; opens Chicago office to organize protests against housing and employment discrimination |
| 1966 | Coordinating Council of Community Organizations | |
| The SCLC forms a coalition with CCCO, Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, an organization founded by Albert Raby, the combined organizations' efforts are fostered under the aegis of The Chicago Freedom Movement (CFM) |
| 1966 | Demonstrations | |
| The SCLC forms a coalition with CCCO, Coordinating Council of Community Organizations, an organization founded by Albert Raby, the combined organizations' efforts are fostered under the aegis of The Chicago Freedom Movement (CFM) |
| 1967 | Civil Disobedience | |
| King plans Poor People's Campaign; advocates redistribution of wealth to eradicate black poverty |
| 1967 | Demonstrations | |
| 15th Aug Washington Calls for a campaign of civil disobedience to meet black demands |
| 1967 | Poor People's Campaign | |
| King plans Poor People's Campaign; advocates redistribution of wealth to eradicate black poverty |
| 1968 | Assassination | |
| Mar Memphis King goes to Memphis , Tennessee, in support of the black sanitary public works employees, represented by AFSCME Local 1733, who had been on strike since March 12 for higher wages and better treatment |
| 3rd April Memphis Five days later, President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning for the lost civil rights leader |
| 3rd April Memphis King is booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis , while standing on the motel's 2nd floor balcony, King is shot at 6:01 p.m. |
| 3rd April Memphis King is pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. |
| 3rd April Memphis King returns to Memphis and addresses a rally, delivering his "I've been to the Mountaintop" address at Mason Temple (Church of God in Chris t, Inc. - World Headquarters), King's flight to Memphis had been delayed by a bomb threat against his plane |
| 3rd April Memphis The assassination led to a nationwide wave of riots in more than 60 cities |
| 4th April Memphis Shot dead while stepping out onto a motel room balcony in Memphis |
| 1968 | Death | |
| 4th April Memphis Shot dead while stepping out onto a motel room balcony in Memphis |
| 9th April Memphis A crowd of 300,000 attend Martin Luther King's funeral |
