Martin Luther King, USA (1929-1968)
Baptist minister, civil rights leader; born in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1955 he led the boycott of Montgomery's segregated busses for over a year (eventually resulting in the Supreme Court decision outlawing discrimination in public transportation). In 1957 he became President of the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and he began to broaden his active role in the civil rights struggle while advocating his non-violent approach to achieving results; he based his approach on the ideas of Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi as well as on Christian teachings.
He organised protest demonstrations and marches in such cities as Birmingham, Alabama (1963), St. Augustine, Florida (1964), and Selma, Alabama (1965). During these years he was arrested and jailed by Southern officials on several occasions, he was stoned and physically attacked, and his house was bombed. King's finest hour came on 28th August 1963, when he led the great march on Washington, D.C., that culminated with his famous "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
At the height of his influence he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. His efforts were instrumental in securing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 to show his support to striking city workers, he was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of his motel.