As published on Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanraab/2013/08/28/mlk-thomas-jefferson-and-other-iconic-leaders-who-made-an-impact-before-hitting-40/

MLK, Thomas Jefferson And Other Iconic Leaders Who Made An Impact Before Hitting 40

Fifty years ago today, on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his historic “I have a dream speech” in front of more than 200,000 civil rights advocates.  This speech, perhaps the most influential and famous of the 20th century, movingly attached the aspirations of the African American communities nationwide to the universal rights claimed by our Founding Fathers in 1776.  Dr. King said,”I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, ‘We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.’”  This quote from the Declaration of Independence tied racial equality to the aspirations of the Founders.

Dr. King used this power of morality to draw a nation to his side.  In this, he was not so different from the people of 1776.  But he shares something else in common with them and with other iconic leaders: he achieved greatness at a very young age.  Dr. King in 1963 and Thomas Jefferson in 1776 were almost exactly the same age, neither old enough to be President of the United States.  Born in 1929, King was 34 years old when gave his great speech.  He was 26 years old when he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955.  Thomas Jefferson, whose Declaration of Independence Dr. King quoted in 1963, was 33 years old when he authored this founding document.

Read more at http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanraab/2013/08/28/mlk-thomas-jefferson-and-other-iconic-leaders-who-made-an-impact-before-hitting-40/