Which civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968?

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in April 1968.

King was shot on April 4, 1968, at about 6:01 p.m. while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. He had come to Memphis to support striking sanitation workers and was preparing to lead another demonstration for economic justice.

James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in 1969, though he later recanted, and debates about the assassination have continued. The official criminal case identified Ray as the killer, while later conspiracy claims have remained disputed. King’s death sparked grief and unrest across the United States and accelerated passage of the Fair Housing Act, signed into law days later.

King is sometimes confused with Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, or Robert F. Kennedy, all major figures of the era who were also assassinated or murdered. King’s assassination occurred in Memphis, whereas Evers was killed in Mississippi and Malcolm X in New York.