Martin Luther King Jr. led the nonviolent struggle for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
He rose to national leadership during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963.
Key Facts
- Lived: 1929 to 1968
- Helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957
- Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at age 35
- Honored with a federal holiday on the third Monday of January
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