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866 MARYLAND MANUAL Day and as a day of prayer in his honor (Chapter 265, Acts of 1972), and April 13 as John Hanson Day (Chapter 54, Acts of 1973). Since these two days are newly-created "Special Days," this edition of the MARYLAND MANUAL includes short biographical sketches of the two persons so honored. Martin Luther King Day Martin Luther King, Jr„ clergyman, reformer, and civil rights leader was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, the son and the grandson of Baptist ministers. He attended the public schools of Atlanta, Morehouse College where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948, Crozer Theological Seminary, where he was awarded the Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951, and Boston University, where he earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1955, Following the completion of his education, he became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Shortly thereafter, he achieved national prominence when he led a successful boycott of the public buses in that city, A year-long economic pressure by the Black community resulted in the landmark Supreme Court decision which outlawed racial segregation in intrastate as well as interstate transportation. Following this Montgomery victory, Dr. King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference through which he broadened his civil rights activities. A dynamic leader and a powerful speaker, Dr. King was a key figure in the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" in 1963 and in the antidiscrimination and voter registration drives throughout the South. These campaigns, most notably at Albany, Georgia, and in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama in the early 1960's, dramatized the pressing need for congressional legislative action. This accelerated the passage of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1966, Dr. King extended his activities to the North. In Chicago, where he lived briefly, he was abused and stoned by a mob. He risked arrests and jailings many times. In October 1967, he served a five-day sentence in Birmingham for contempt of court in violating a 1963 injunction which prohibited demonstrations. During 1967, he also announced massive demonstrations against both discrimination and the Vietnam War. Among Dr. King's published works are Stride Toward Freedom (1958), Why We Can't Wait (1964), Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967), and others. Dr. King was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. The action by the Maryland General Assembly in proclaiming January 15 as Martin Luther King Day honors Dr. King's civil rights accomplishments. John Hanson Day The second of the two new "Special Days" honors John Hanson, one of Maryland's outstanding Revolutionary War leaders and the na- tion's first president of Congress under the Articles of Confederation. Born at "Mulberry Grove," near Port Tobacco of Swedish descent on April 14, 1715, John Hanson lived in Charles County until 1773. During this period, he represented his native county in the Assembly |
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Maryland Manual, 1973-74
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