Martin Luther King Senior had very little education during his childhood. As the oldest of nine children born to poor sharecroppers in Stockbridge, Georgia life was not easy. In his hometown of Stockbridge he attended Stockbridge Colored School.

Martin Luther King Senior only managed to go to school about 3-5 months out of the year. And so, his educational opportunities were few and far between. At 19, he re-entered and finished his elementary education

School records show that at the age of 15 he was barely literate. Although not perfectly, Martin Luther Senior could read; however, he could not write. This was not surprising since the school had no paper, pencils, blackboards or other materials. With nothing to write on and no way for the teacher to instruct her many students, learning seemed near impossible. Martin did like math though. He has been quoted as saying he had a serious fascination with numbers.

All indications say that he was actually 19 when he finished he elementary education, but it's rather hard to say how old he was for two reasons. One, census records are not compatible with what Martin Luther King, Sr. has indicated was his birth year. And two, because for some reason it's been seemingly impossible to find.

I do apologize for not being able to answer your question exactly as it has been answered. I have looked many places without precise dates.

Thanks for asking such an intriguing question!