Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the moral conscience of America — a Baptist minister and activist whose philosophy of nonviolent resistance dismantled legal segregation, secured voting rights for Black Americans, and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35. His "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered before 250,000 people at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, is the most famous speech in American history.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, King was the son and grandson of Baptist ministers. He entered Morehouse College at 15, earned his divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary, and his doctorate from Boston University. He was 26 years old when he led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, catapulting him to national prominence.

King's leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference over the next thirteen years produced some of the most significant achievements in American history: the desegregation of Birmingham, the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Selma marches, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His final years saw him expand his mission to include economic justice and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 39. The holiday established in his name is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service.