GoCertify Salutes Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is a holiday in the United States that honors Martin Luther King Jr., the African-American civil rights leader who dedicated his adult years to ending racial inequality. Dr. King focused his work on the racial divide in the United States, but his wise words have universal application. You don't have to be an American to appreciate the profound wisdom of a statement like, "The time is always right to do what is right."

Martin Luther King Jr. died April 4, 1968 at the tragically young age of 39, shot by an assassin at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. The federal holiday that commemorates his life and legacy was created during President Ronald Reagan's first term in office and formally assigned to the third Monday in January in 1992 under President George H.W. Bush. For the edification of our readers and in honor of Dr. King, GoCertify offers this short quiz:

NOTE: To view last year's quiz, click here.

1) How many streets in U.S. cities and towns are named after Martin Luther King Jr.?

2) On what date did Martin Luther King Jr. become an ordained minister?

3) What did Martin Luther King Jr. say at the famous civil rights rally held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 24, 1956?

4) How many public events did Martin Luther King Jr. speak at in his lifetime?

5) Where did Martin Luther King Jr. meet his wife?

6) How tall was Martin Luther King Jr.?

7) Who ordered the FBI to begin monitoring King Jr.'s phone calls?

8) How many times was Martin Luther King Jr. arrested and jailed in his lifetime?

9) When was Martin Luther King Jr. awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

10) What was the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s final public address?

(See answers on next page.)

ANSWERS

1) There are approximately 900 streets in U.S. cities and towns named after Martin Luther King Jr.

2) King Jr. was ordained in February 1948. A letter from Lillian Watkins, secretary for Ebenezer Baptist Church, which conducted and certified the ordination, states that it occurred on Feb. 18. A letter from King's father, however, states that date of the ordination was Feb. 25.

3) King Jr. did not speak at the Madison Square Garden rally. Though his name was used in flyers advertising the rally, which featured an appearance by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, King Jr. did not actually attend.

4) Martin Luther King Jr. is estimated to have spoken at more than 2,500 public events, and delivered an estimated 450 speeches per year at the height of his activity.

5) King Jr. met Coretta Scott, an aspiring singer and musician, in Boston while she was a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying voice and violin. A mutual friend, Mary Powell, gave Scott's phone number to King Jr., who was attending Boston University at the time while working on his doctorate degree.

6) King Jr. stood 5 feet, 7 inches. His wife, Coretta, who had spoken to King Jr. on the phone before meeting him, once remarked that he was shorter in person than she had expected.

7) Though FBI director J. Edgar Hoover is famously known to have suspected King Jr. of being a seditious influence, it was U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who ordered a wiretap on King's phone calls in 1963.

8) King Jr. was arrested 29 times. His final arrest was on Oct. 30, 1967, in Birmingham, Ala.

9) King Jr. received the prestigious recognition on Oct. 14, 1964, at age 35, becoming the youngest person ever to be so honored.

10) King Jr. gave his final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop," at Mason Temple, also called Bishop Charles Mason Temple, in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968. He was shot and killed the following morning.