Today In History 1968: Martin Luther King is assassinated outside the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee. James Earl Ray was convicted of the murder, but King's own family doesn't believe Ray was the killer . . Keep reading thread. I got some stuff you might not know

His autopsy showed that MLK had the heart of a 60 year old man. He was only 39. Doctors say it was due to stress, which makes sense. And I'll explain why: . Did you know that King was almost assassinated a decade earlier? I'll explain below. . .

On September 20, 1958, King was in Harlem signing copies of his new book - "Stride toward freedom. The Montgomery story", when a 42 year old crazy woman named Izola Ware Curry approached him and stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener.

When he got to the hospital the blade was still stuck in his chest, 6 inches deep. She also had a gun on her but was apprehended before she could use it. . . and that wasn't the only other attempt on his life . . .

On January 30, 1956, someone drove to King's home in Montgomery, Alabama, and threw an explosive devise at his front porch. There was an explosion, which damaged the house. King’s wife, Coretta, was inside with their 7 month old daughter Yolanda, but no one was hurt

Fun fact: Martin was not his birth name. His birth name was Michael King jr. King was a very good student in school. As a matter of fact he did so well in school that he skipped both 9th and 12th grade and he entered college (Morehouse College) at age 15.