King, Coretta Scott (1927–2006)

African-American civil-rights activist. Name variations: Corrie or Cora; Mrs. Martin Luther King Jr. Born Coretta Scott, April 27, 1927, in Heiberger, Alabama; died Jan 31, 2006, at a hospital in Mexico; dau. of Obidiah "Obie" Scott (farmer, independent truck driver, and small store owner) and Bernice McMurry (also seen as McMurray) Scott; attended Antioch College, 1945–51, and New England Conservatory of Music, 1951–54; m. Martin Luther King Jr., June 18, 1953; children: Yolanda Denise King (b. 1955, actress); Martin Luther King, III (b. 1957); Dexter Scott King (b. 1961); Bernice King (b. 1963).

Wife of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who took on an independent role in the civil-rights movement in years following husband's assassination (1968); received Antioch College Race Relations Committee scholarship (1945); received Jesse Smith Noyes fellowship to New England Conservatory of Music (1951); met Martin Luther King Jr. (1952); moved to Montgomery, Albama (1954); confronted with up to 40 phone-call threats a day during Montgomery bus boycott (1955); was present with baby daughter when King home was bombed (1956); became a featured performer at money-raising concerts to support the cause of civil rights and integration (1956); moved to Atlanta, GA (1960); attended Geneva disarmament talks (1962); began a series of "Freedom Concerts" (1964); following assassination of husband (1968), emerged as a powerful, and sometimes controversial, personality in her own right; spoke at St. Paul's Church in London, the 1st woman in history to have such an opportunity (1969); began planning for Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial (1969); founded Center for Non-Violent Change (1971), serving as founding president and chief executive officer until 1994; toured South Africa (1986), meeting with black civil-rights leaders; worked to preserve husband's legacy.

See also memoirs, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. (1969, rev. 1993); and Women in World History.