Martin Luther King Day

January 18, 2021 
Yearly Date: Third Monday in January

Martin Luther King Day is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in January to honor the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and the tremendous efforts he accomplished to advance civil liberties for all Americans.

King was born on January 15, 1929.

Early on, he felt the call to become a Christian minister and through passionate speeches became one of the most influential voices to decry civil injustice. He landed on the national stage in 1955 when he led a boycott protesting segregation on buses.

In 1963 his famous “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered in Washington D.C. to an audience of over 250,000. In 1964 King became the youngest recipient to date to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to achieve racial equality. In 1968 he was assassinated.

In 2000, MLK Day was officially made a national holiday in the United States.

Celebrate this incredible man today by first of all, learning more about his life and efforts, and then pay it forward by volunteering to help your community.

Our world is better because of Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Quote for the Day

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Famous People Born in January

January 1, 1735Paul Revere, Revolutionary War.

January 1, 1752Betsy Ross, designed first U.S.flag

January 1, 1895J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director

January 2, 1920Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Writer

January 3, 1892J.R.R. Tolkien, Author of “Lord of the Rings”

January 3, 1950Victoria Principal, Actress

January 3, 1956Mel Gibson, actor, director

January 4, 1643Isaac Newton, Astronomer, Physicist, MAthematician

January 4, 1937Dyan Cannon, Actress

January 5, 1946- Diane Keaton, Actress

January 6, 1412- Joan of Arc

January 7, 1800- Millard Filmore, 13th President, (1850-1853)

January 7, 1948- Kenny Loggins, Singer/Songwriter

January 7, Katie Couric, Today Show host

January 7, 1964- Nicolas Cage, Actor

January 8, 1889 – Edward Elijah Perkins, creator of Kool-Aid

January 8, 1926- Soupy Sales, TV Actor

January 8, 1935- Elvis Presley, King of Rock ‘n Roll

January 9, 1913 – Richard M. Nixon, 37th President (1969-1974)

January 9, 1935- Bob Denver, TV Actor “Gilligan”

January 9, 1951- Crystal Gayle, Country Singer

January 9, 1967- Dave Matthews, singer, band leader, song writer

January 10, 1945- Rod Stewart, Rock Singer

January 10, 1949- George Foreman, Heavyweight boxing champion, and creator of the “George  Foreman Grill”

January 11, 1952- Ben Crenshaw, golfing great

January 12, 1944- Joe Frazier, heavyweight boxing champion

January 12, 1954- Howard Stern, radio and TV “shock jock”

January 12, 1955- Kirstie Alley, TV actress

January 12, 1964 – Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com

January 13, 1919- Robert Stack, Actor” Elliot Ness” on Tv show “Untouchables”

January 13, 1961- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, comedy actress “Elaine” on the “Seinfeld”

January 14, 1741- Benedict Arnold, traitor in American Revolutionary War.

January 14, 1919- Andy Rooney, author and commentator on “60 Minutes”

January 14, 1941- Faye Dunaway, Actress

January 14, 1968 – LL Cool J, actor and rapper

January 15,  1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek Shipping tycoon, married Jackie Bouvier-Kennedy

January 15, 1913- Lloyd Bridges, Actor, TV series “Sea Hunt”

January 15th, 1929- Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Activist

January 15, 1951- Charo, Singer, dancer

January 16, 1853- Andre Michelin, inflatable auto tire inventor

January 16, 1909- Ethel Merman, Singer and actress

January 16, 1935- A.J. Foyt, race car driver

January 17, 1706- Benjamin Franklin, inventor, statesman, writer

January 17, 1899- l Capone, notorious 1920’s gangster

January 17, 1928- Vidal Sassoon, British hair stylist, fashion designer

January 17, 1934- Shari Lewis, TV children’s puppeteer

January 17, 1942- Mohammad Ali, formerly “Casius Clay”, arguably the best ever heavyweight boxing champion

January 18, 1779- Peter Roget, author of Roget’s Thesaurus

January 18, 1782- Daniel Webster, politician and speaker

January 18, 1882- A.A. Milne, author of Children’s’ storybooks. Created Winnie the Pooh and friends.

January 18, 1892- Oliver Hardy, “Ollie” in Stan and Laurel comedies

January 18, 1904- Cary Grant, Actor

January 18, 1913- Danny Kaye, comic actor

January 18, 1955- Kevin Costner, Actor

January 19, 1807- Robert E. Lee, Civil War Confederate Army General

January 19, 1809- Edgar Allen Poe, Author and Poet, most notably macabre and horror stories

January 19, 1943- Janis Joplin, 1960’s rock singer

January 19, 1946- Dolly Parton, buxom country western singer and actress

January 20, 1896- George Burns, comedian

January 20, 1920 Deforrest Kelley, Doctor McCoy on Tv’s original “Star Trek”

January 20,1930- Edwin “Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut, walked on the moon

January 21, 1738- Ethan Allen, Revolutionary War Hero

January 21, 1824- Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Confederate Army general

January 21,1924- Telley Savalas, Tv’s “Kojak”

January 21, 1925- Benny Hill, British comedian

January 21, 1976- “Baby Spice” of The Spice Girls

January 22, 1934- Bill Bixby, the “Incredible Hulk” Star

January 23, 1737- John Hancock, politician, first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

January 24, 1917- Ernest Borgnine, Actor, most notably TV’s “McHales’ Navy”

 January 24, 1941- Neil Diamond, singer

January 22, 1949- John Belushi, comedian, actor, SNL and Blues Brothers

January 24, 1968- Mary Lou Retton, won gold medal in Gymnastics, at 1984 Olympics

January 25, 1931- Dean Jones, actor, “The Love Bug”

January 25, 1981- Alicia Keys, singer, Grammy winner

January 26, 1880- Douglas MaCarthur, WWII General, Quote: “I shall return!”

January 26, 1925- Paul Newman, Oscar winning actor

January 26, 1955- Eddie Van Halen, singer, rock band

January 26, 1958- Ellen DeGeneres, actress, talk show hostess

January 26, 1961- Wayne Gretzky, Hockey’s “Great One”

January 27, 1756- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the greatest musical composers ever

January 27, 1832- Lewis Carroll, wrote “Alice in Wonderland”

January 27, 1921- Donna Reed, TV and movie actress

January 28, 1887- Arthur Rubenstein, classical pianist

January 28, 1936- Alan Alda, Hawkeye Pierce in Tv series “M*A*S*H”

January 29, 1843 – William McKinley, 25th U.S. President(1897-1901), assassinated while in office.

January 29, 1880- W. C. Fields, comedian

January 29, 1918- John Forsythe, actor, Charlie’s Angels, Dynasty

January 29, 1945- Tom Selleck, Actor, “Magnum P.I.

January 29, 1954- Oprah Winfrey, talk show hostess

January 30, 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President, elected to four terms (1933-1945)

January 30, 1922- Dick Martin, comedian

January 30, 1930- Gene Hackman, actor

January 30, 1937, Boris Spassky, World Chess champion

January 30, 1951- Phil Collins, singer

January 31, 1919- Jackie Robinson, first Afro-American to to play in Major League Baseball

January 31, 1923- Carol Channing, actress, “Hello Dolly”

January 31, 1937- Suzanne Pleshette, actress

January 31, 1947- Nolan Ryan, MLB pitcher for 27 years

January 31, 1981- Justin Timberlake, singer

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