10 Famous Historical Figures Who Changed Their Name

10. Martin Luther King Jr

The leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA, Dr Martin Luther King Jr was not actually named as such when he was born on April 4, 1929. His father, Martin Luther King Sr, was originally named "Michael King" and so he called his child "Michael King Jr" after himself. However, while on a trip to Germany in 1931, Michael King Sr - the leader of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia - decided to change his name to "Martin Luther King" in homage to theologian Martin Luther, who rebelled against the Catholic Church with his 95 Theses during the 16th Century. Therefore Michael King Sr became Martin Luther King Sr - and his two-year-old son became Martin Luther King Jr, and would go on to help change relations between white-Americans and African-Africans in the USA.