Last updated on March 27, 2023 at 05:06 p.m.

On Jan. 15, 1970, some students and staff of the University were preparing to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his upcoming birthday.

Jan. 15 was a Thursday and the average temperature for that day was about 26 degrees, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The Daily Illini archives accessed through the University Library showed that a peace vigil that took place weekly on the corner of Wright and Green streets would today honor Dr. King’s birthday. The vigil was scheduled for 30 minutes starting at 11:45 a.m.

These vigils were organized by an “informal group” led professor of Scandinavian languages Philip Mitchell. According to the article, most of the people participating were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers).

At the same time as the King vigil, a moratorium or a temporary suspension of activity against the war in Vietnam would also take place in front of Alma Mater.