April 4, 1968
Memphis, Tennessee
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel

The Reverend Doctor King’s killer, James Earl Ray, shot the Civil Right’s leader in his right cheek. The bullet then struck King’s jaw, traveled down his spinal column, and came to rest lodged in his shoulder. The reason for Dr. King’s murder isn’t entirely clear, though Ray was pro-segregation and a confirmed racist. Ray pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1998 of complications caused by Hepatitis C.