Martin Luther King

Born Michael King Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, a Baptist minister, changes both their names to Martin Luther after visiting Germany in 1934 and being inspired by the Protestant reformer. The family lives in a large Victorian house on Auburn Avenue, known as "Sweet Auburn," the richest Black neighborhood in America.

Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her bus seat. King, a 26-year-old pastor newly arrived in Montgomery, is chosen to lead the bus boycott that follows. He is picked partly because he's new in town and has no local enemies. The boycott lasts 381 days. It is his first campaign.

Writes his Letter from Birmingham Jail on scraps of newspaper, the margins of a legal pad, and toilet paper smuggled out by his lawyers. Eight white clergymen had called his protests "unwise and untimely." His reply runs to 7,000 words. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Delivers the "I Have a Dream" speech to 250,000 people at the March on Washington. He is standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The prepared text doesn't include the dream sequence. Mahalia Jackson, standing behind him, shouts: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" He pushes his notes aside.

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35. He donates the entire ,123 prize to the civil rights movement. At the time, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI is wiretapping his phones, monitoring his travel, and attempting to blackmail him.

Leads the third Selma-to-Montgomery march. Two earlier attempts were stopped by state troopers and tear gas. This time, 3,200 marchers set out under federal protection. By the time they reach the Alabama capitol four days later, 25,000 people are walking with them.

Delivers "Beyond Vietnam" at Riverside Church in New York. He calls the United States "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." The speech costs him allies. The NAACP distances itself. The Washington Post says he has "diminished his usefulness." He doesn't back down.

Shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis at 6:01 p.m. A single .30-06 bullet severs his spinal cord. His last words are to the musician Ben Branch, who's scheduled to perform that evening: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." He is 39.

Launches the Poor People's Campaign, expanding his focus from racial injustice to economic inequality. He plans to bring thousands of poor Americans of all races to Washington. He is killed before the march happens. The campaign goes forward without him. 3,000 people build Resurrection City on the National Mall.

The first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed. The campaign for the holiday took 15 years. Coretta Scott King collected six million signatures. Ronald Reagan signed it into law in 1983 despite having initially opposed it. All 50 states now observe it.