Martin Luther King Jr.

About Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal social activist and Baptist minister, best known for leading the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s. His tireless, nonviolent advocacy against racial segregation and discrimination was instrumental in landmark legislative victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This profound, sustained global cultural impact secures his position at #50 on MIT's Historical Popularity Index, reflecting a high degree of historical importance across languages and time.

When assessing modern attention, King receives 4.6 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025, placing him in a category of significant but perhaps lagging contemporary interest. His Attention Gap score of +6x indicates a distinct *overattention* relative to his rank, suggesting the internet is still heavily focused on his legacy. For instance, while historically less important figures like Joe Biden (#329 importance) garner 11.0M views, King’s 4.6M views, despite his #50 rank, show a notable disconnect between his historical standing and absolute traffic volume when compared to some modern political figures.

However, the momentum data reveals potential volatility: the 2025 Q1 vs Q3 momentum shows a sharp decline of -53%, and his year-over-year views are down -11.0%. This suggests that while his baseline attention is high, the intensity of public interest or current search relevance is decreasing compared to earlier in the year.