A look at the relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi The King Martin Luther King Jr. was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. His legacy is honored annually during the MLK federal holiday. His father, Michael King Sr. changed both his name as well as Dr. King’s name to Martin Luther after the German professor, priest, and monk who led the Protestant Reformation movement of the 1500s. King would go on to earn his PhD in sys