King graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 and from Boston University in 1955. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference/Handout)
While in Boston, he met Coretta Scott. They married in 1953 and would eventually have four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice. (Bahnsen Negative Collection/Handout)
In 1955, as the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, King was elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the organization that was responsible for the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956. (Gene Herrick/AP)
King's battle with the law continued. He was arrested thirty times for his participation in civil rights activities. Here he is being charged with loitering in 1958. (Charles Moore)
When he wasn't part of the civil rights struggle, King was a family man. He's seen here with his wife, Coretta, and four children (from left to right) Dexter, Yolanda, Martin Luther King III and Bernice.
In August 1963, thousands gathered for the March on Washington where King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. (File photo/AP)
In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize from the hands of Gunnar Jahn, Chairman of the Nobel Committee, in Oslo, Norway. At the time he was the youngest man ever to receive the prize. (File photo/AP)
On July 2, 1964, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, with King and other civil rights leaders present. (File photo/AP)
Bishop B. Jlian Smith, of the Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Church (left), King (center), and Rev. Ralph Abernathy (right) during a civil rights march in Memphis, Tenn. in 1968. (File photo/AP)
The next day, an assassin's bullet struck King as he once again stood on the balcony. In June, James Early Ray was arrested in London and charged with King's murder. (File photo/AP/Time Inc.)
The family of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. walk in the funeral procession of the slain civil rights leader on April 9, 1968. (File photo)
In 1983, after years of fighting, Coretta Scott King (left) was successful in getting her late husband's birthday recognized as a national holiday. Here, President Ronald Reagan signs the legislation. (File photo)