Martin Luther King Jr. was a prominent civil rights activist and leader in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. He was at the forefront of the African American civil rights movement and is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights through nonviolent civil disobedience and his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He became a Baptist minister and a prominent leader in the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, which was a key event in the American civil rights movement. He went on to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a key organization in the civil rights movement.

King is perhaps most famous for his leadership in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where he delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The speech called for an end to racism and segregation in America and remains one of the most famous speeches in American history.

In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in America. His work continued until his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite his untimely death, King's legacy lives on as a symbol of peace, equality, and justice for all people.