The life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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PHOTOS: The life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

A journey through the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

On Jan. 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr., the second of three children of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King, was born at the family home on 501 Auburn Avenue.

King at the age of 6.

Having skipped both the ninth and twelfth grades, Dr. King entered Morehouse College at the age of fifteen. He's seen here at his baccalaureate service with his sister, Christine, who was graduating from Spelman College.

By the age of 19, King was ordained as a minister.

While in Boston, he met Coretta Scott. They married in 1953 and would eventually have four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter and Bernice.

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.

King graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 and from Boston University in 1955.

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.

In August 1963, thousands gathered for the March on Washington where King gave his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.

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.

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 ws the youngest man ever to receive the prize.

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.

When he wasn't part of the civil rights struggle, Martin Luther King Jr. was a family man. He's seen here with his wife, Coretta, and four children (from left to right) Dexter, Yolanda, Bernice and Martin Luther King III. (AJC file photo)

In April 1968, King traveled to Memphis, Tenn. to help support striking sanitation workers. On April 3, he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel with (from left to right) Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy. That same day he gave his famous 'I've Been to the Mountaintop' speech.

The next day, an assassin's bulet 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.

On April 9, 1968 thousands filled Atlanta's streets in a funeral procession for the slain civil rights leader. Across the country, riots erupted.

The family of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. walk in the funeral procession of the slain civil rights leader on April 9, 1968. From left: daughter Yolanda, 12; King's brother A.D. King; daughter Bernice, 5; widow Coretta Scott King; Rev. Ralph Abernathy; sons Dexter, 7, and Martin Luther King III, 10.

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.

Thousands flock each year to King's memorial in Atlanta as well as The King Center, a civil rights history museum.

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On Jan. 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr., the second of three children of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King, was born at the family home on 501 Auburn Avenue.

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