Beyond the dream: 7 lesser-known facts about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
7. King used to be a Michael
How different history would be indeed! There is evidence to indicate that Martin Luther King Sr., father of King, was originally Michael Luther King.
Furthermore, there is a murky possibility that official records involved the men doting the names Michael Luther King Sr. and Michael Luther King Jr.
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Snopes.com vetted the claim and was able to turn up remarks from King Sr. that came from a speech given in 1957:
"I had been known as Michael Luther King or 'Mike' up until I was 22 ... when one day my father, James Albert King, told me: 'You aren't named Mike or Michael either. Your name is Martin Luther King. Your mother just called you Mike for short,'" said King Sr.
"I gladly accepted Martin Luther King as my real name and when M.L. was born, I proudly named him Martin Luther King Jr. But it was not until 1934, when I was seeking my first passport ... that I found out that Dr. Johnson, who delivered M.L., had listed him in the city records as Michael Luther King Jr., because he thought that was my real name."
