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Famous, great people have plagiarized
Q: Famous, great people have plagiarized—like Martin Luther King, Jr.
A: King isn't alive, so we don't know what would have happened if someone had discovered the plagiarism when he was alive. Certainly, famous people have gotten in trouble for plagiarizing. Delaware Senator Joe Biden quit the presidential race in 1988 when someone discovered he had stolen the words of a British politician. An historian at Mount Holyoke College, Joe Ellis, has been severely criticized within the profession when a Boston Globe reporter revealed that he had lied to his students when claiming he had been a highly decorated combat veteran in Vietnam.
References
"Becoming Martin Luther King—Plagiarism and Originality: A Round Table," Journal of American History (June 1991): 11-123
The Washington Post's description of the Biden plagiarism scandal.
Phonyveterans.com's copy of Boston Globe article on Joe Ellis
History teaching listserv H-TEACH July 2001 log, including discussion of Joe Ellis' lying in class (look for the topics "Lying to students" and "Gender" beginning July 19, 2001).