Today in history: Martin Luther King wins Nobel Peace Prize

CAIRO - 14 October 2017: “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals”- Martin Luther King.

On October 14, 1964, the leader of the civil rights movement in the U.S. won the Nobel Peace prize. King is mostly known for his infamous speech "I Have a Dream," a speech that was given during The Great March in Washington in 1963.

His award commemorates "the furtherance of brotherhood among men and to the abolishment or reduction of standing armies and for the extension of these purposes," The New York Times noted.

Receiving the Nobel Peace prize at the young age of 35, King was the youngest person to have ever received the prize. He used the money he got from the award for the civil rights movement that started from 1954 to 1968 calling for the abolishment of segregation.

Inspired by Mohandas Gandhi, King lead peaceful protests to end segregation in the U.S. but he and his followers often faced violence and brutality. However, King did not cave and continued his peaceful protests.