Martin Luther King, Jr.


Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was an African-American Baptist minister, humanitarian, and leader of the African American Civil Rights Movement. He is noted for his organization of the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. He authored five books and based them on nonviolence principles espoused by Christian teachings. On April 4, 1968, as he was planning a national occupation called the Poor People's Campaign, King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. Posthumously, King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a U.S. Federal holiday in 1986.