Martin Luther King Jr.

1929–1968 · American (Atlanta, Georgia) · Civil Rights Era

Known for: Led the American civil rights movement through nonviolent resistance — the 20th century's greatest moral voice

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister who became the most visible leader of the American civil rights movement. His philosophy of nonviolent resistance, influenced by Gandhi and the Social Gospel, drove the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, the Selma marches, and the passage of the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965). His 'I Have a Dream' speech is one of the most important in American history.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at 35 — the youngest recipient at the time. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at age 39. His birthday is a federal holiday, and his moral authority continues to shape American discourse on race, justice, and nonviolence.

What Martin Luther King Jr. would be watching

The “if they lived today” Q&A on this page gives Martin Luther King Jr. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as a favourite film. Their reason: “Atticus Finch understood that justice sometimes means standing alone.” Rankquant scores it above 94% of films, drawn from 467 IMDb reviewers individually re-centred rather than averaged raw. The full film & TV rankings are built the same way.

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