Martin Luther King, Jr was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and his mother was Alberta Williams King. He was the middle child and has an older sister, Willie Christine King, and younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Martin loved singing at his church's choir, and music.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. was a child, he befriended a young white boy. The boy's father owned a business near Martin Luther King's home. When both boys turned 6 years old, they attended different schools due to their skin color. This was known as segregation at the time. Unfortunately, Martin lost his friend due to the segregated schools and due to the boy's father not wanting him to be friends with "colored people." From this moment, Martin started to become aware of the segregation issues.
Martin went to Boston University and graduated with a Ph.D (doctor degree). He married Corretta Scott on June 18, 1953.
He was an American Baptist minister, an activist, humanitarian, and the leader in the African-American Civil Rights movement during the 1960's. Martin Luther King, Jr. was known for his "peaceful" and "nonviolent" march to Washington D.C. in 1963.
Martin Luther King, Jr. died on March 29, 1968. We honor Martin Luther King, Jr.'s triumphs around his birthday. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We call it, "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day."
Resources: Wikipedia The King Center, retrieved January 4, 2016 at http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king.