Remembering a revolutionary: Martin

Luther King's life, in photos

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and wife, Coretta Scott King (R, w. bonnet and sunglasses) look energized as they lead demonstrators on the fourth day of their march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala. Photo by Ben Martin/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , right, chats with Greenwood African-Americans on their front porch during his door-to-door campaign, telling all African-Americans to register to vote and support his Miss. Freedom Democratic party. King arrived on July 21, 1964 in Greenwood for the beginning of a 5-day tour of Mississippi towns. Photo by JAB/AP

Young men sing during the March on Washington, Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Martin Luther King Jr. delivers a speech at the podium in 1960. Photo by Bob Henriques/Magnum

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a campaign to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his $500 fine pending appeal.Photo by Gene Herrick/AP

Two black ministers who were active in the long boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery, Alabama,were among the first to ride after a Supreme Court integration order went into effect on December 21, 1956. At left, front seat, is the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, while at left in the second seat is the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beside King is white minister, Rev. Glenn Smiley of New York, who said he was in Montgomery as an observer. Woman at right is unidentifiedAP Photo/Harold Valentine

Ralph Abernathy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. sit pensively in Montgomery, Ala. Photo by Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

Through the smoke and fire from hundreds of torches walks American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as he arrives with his wife Coretta to deliver the traditional address at the University of Oslo Festival Hall, on Dec. 11, 1964. Behind the reverend walks Rev. Ralph Abernathy, King’s closest associate. Photo by AP

Lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., protesters march from Selma to Montgomery to fight for black suffrage in 1965Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Civil Rights Movement

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is greeted on his return to the United States after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 31, 1964 in Baltimore, Md.Photo by Leonard Freed/Magnum

Men and women link arms during The March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Leonard Freed/Magnum

Dr. Martin Luther King looks at a glass door of his rented beach cottage in St. Augustine, Florida, that was shot into by someone unknown on June 5, 1964. King took time out from conferring with St. Augustine integration leaders to inspect the house, which no one was in at the time of the shooting AP Photo/Jim Kerlin

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads a group of marchers from Selma to Montgomery to fight for black suffrage.Photo by Bruce Davidson/Magnum

Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Ralph Abernathy ride on one of the first desegregated buses in Montgomery, Ala., in December 1956.

A civil rights demonstration in Washington, D.C., in 1957. Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gets a big welcome from several youngsters at Marion, Ala., on Feb. 5, 1965 during visit after his release from jail at nearby Selma. Dr. King has sparked voter registration drives in both Perry and Dallas counties Photo by Horace Cort/AP

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. relaxes at home with his wife Coretta and their first child Yolanda in May 1956 in Montgomery, Ala.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Dr Martin Luther King with wife Coretta Scott King

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is seen at a press conference in Birmingham, Ala., in 1962. Photo by Bruce Davidson/Mangum

Martin Luther King Jr. holds his young son Dexter on his lap at home in Atlanta, November 8, 1960. Flip Schulke/Corbis

Wikimedia Commons

After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is freed from prison under a $2000 appeal bond, he is greeted by his wife Coretta and children, Marty and Yoki, at the airport in Chamblee, Georgia on October 27, 1960. Bettmann/Corbis

The Juniors - Martin Luther King and Sammy Davis

mlk - mom at his left

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is seen at home with his wife Coretta in Atlanta, Ga., 1961.Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum

Dr. Martin Luther KIng, Jr. waves to supporters on Aug. 28, 1963 on the Mall in Washington D.C. (Washington Monument in background) during the “March on Washington”. King said the march was “the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of the United States.”

Photo by AFP/Getty

Leaders of March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom march with signs. (R-L) Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Eugene Carson Blake, Martin Luther King, Floyd McKissick, Matthew Ahmann. Photo by Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty

Martin Luther King Jr. pushes his young son Dexter on a swing set in their backyard, November 1960. Flip Schulke/Corbis

Martin Luther King Jr. serves pieces of chicken to his young sons Marty and Dexter at Sunday dinner on November 8, 1964. Flip Schulke/Corbis

Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on the third Monday in

January, close to the civil rights activist’s birthday on Jan. 15.

King was the leading spokesman for nonviolent activism in the

civil rights movement, advocating for the victims of injustice and

economic disadvantage and protesting racial discrimination. He

won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The campaign for a federal

holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in

1968. Congress passed the legislation, President Ronald Reagan

signed it into law in 1983, and it was first recognized three

years later. Some states resisted the holiday, giving it

alternative names, combining it with other holidays or not

observing it, and it was officially observed in all 50 states for

the first time in 2000. (AP/Yahoo News)

Sol-Amari Saunders, right, 7, of Manhattan, joins a march and rally in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 in New York. Manhattan Country School 8th graders honored the legacy of King, by taking to the streets of Harlem to speak out about what they consider to be the most pressing civil rights issues of their generation. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Early morning light shines on the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on January 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Visitors gather at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to celebrate MLK day. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

Renay Foster, of New York City, holds her niece Kamariyah Lambert, 6, as she closes her eyes during a prayer at a ceremony honoring MLK Day at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A man and a child stand near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall on MLK Day January 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: U.S. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (2nd L) and Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser(2nd R) along with Harry Johnson (L), President and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation. participate in a wreath laying at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial during a ceremony on the National Mall on January 19, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

People gather at the wreath laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall during MLK Day January 19, 2015 in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King day was marked by many celebrations across the country. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

Thousands march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge along with members of the cast of the movie "Selma" in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 18, 2015 in Selma, Alabama. In 1965, King led thousands of nonviolent protestors on a march through Selma to the state capitol in a historic Civil Rights demonstration. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

A member of the color guard stands with an American Flag before entering the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorative service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Atlanta, Ga. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

(AP Photo/David Goldman)

(Photo by Linda Davidson/t/Getty Images)

AP Photo/Eric Gay