The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a man well known in many cultures around the world. Dr. King was and still is one of the most influential heroes in American history. King's views and beliefs, similar to Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent ideas, helped African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s gain the rights and freedoms that were their birthright. King faced many obstacles in his research, such as prison and even assassination attempts. Despite these obstacles, he became a successful leader during the Civil Rights Movement, and even after his death, leading African Americans in a nonviolent, positive direction to fight for rights and equality. These reasons make Martin Luther King quite worthy of the title "hero". Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Martin Luther King, Jr. Timeline) Michael Luther King was King's original name before he changed it. King was an educated man who attended high school in Georgia and attended Morehouse College, at the age of 15. He later continued his studies at Boston University, earning his Doctor of Philosophy in Systematic Theology. While in Boston he met the woman he would marry, Coretta Scott. King's relentless and effective leadership, and his success in protesting bus desegregation, made him a major leader of the civil rights movement. King also led one of the largest and most peaceful marches in Washington, DC. About a quarter of a million people, of all races, joined this march, along with many musicians and artists. This was also where King's "I Have A Dream" speech was delivered. King was the youngest man, at age thirty-five, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. King also wrote five books and many articles. (Martin Luther King - Biography) King's leadership ended tragically when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on a motel balcony. King was only thirty-nine years old, and his killer was never found. To achieve rights and freedoms for African Americans many actions must be taken. A leader must take responsibility and lead a nation of people to a successful victory. King did just that. King formed many groups and became president of others. Groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and many other groups that had relationships with those groups.