January 15th marks the birthday of the great civil right leader Martin Luther King Jr. Had King lived he would turn 82 on Saturday. Dr. King was a Baptist preacher who became a great orator. In my opinion his “I have a dream” speech probably ranks only behind the Gettysburg address as one of the most recognized speeches in our history. This is a very powerful and moving speech you can watch the whole thing here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk&fs=1&hl=en_US] He was the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and the Holiday memorializing him was signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1983. It was finally celebrated by all 50 states in 2000. Another interesting thing I found out when doing some research for this blog is that he is ranked 2nd in Gallup’s List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century. [Surpassed only by Mother Teresa]. Tragically he was gunned down on April 4th 1968 in Memphis Tennessee. Dr. King was a fascinating man and we have several books and videos about him, so come in and find out a whole lot more. Oh and for the people who are wondering who else made that Gallup poll list, here you go.
Gallup’s List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century is a poll published in December 1999 by The Gallup Organization to determine which people around the world Americans most admired for what they did in the 20th century.
1. Mother Teresa
2. Martin Luther King, Jr.
3. John F. Kennedy
4. Albert Einstein
5. Helen Keller
6. Franklin D. Roosevelt
7. Billy Graham
8. Pope John Paul II
9. Eleanor Roosevelt
10. Winston Churchill
11. Dwight D. Eisenhower
12. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
13. Mohandas Gandhi
14. Nelson Mandela
15. Ronald Reagan
16. Henry Ford
17. Bill Clinton
18. Margaret Thatcher
Posted by Estel.