Photos: Martin Luther King Jr. and World Leaders

Dr. King talked peace with many influential leaders.

Dr. King Visits Ghana - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spread his message of peace all around the world. Here are some of the influential leaders King met along the way. On March 5, 1957, Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visit Accra to celebrate Ghana’s independence from Great Britain. King meets with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, who reportedly tells King that “Ghana would never be able to accept the American ideology of freedom and democracy fully until America settles its own internal racial strife.”(Photos: Landov)

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Dr. King Visits Ghana - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spread his message of peace all around the world. Here are some of the influential leaders King met along the way. On March 5, 1957, Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, visit Accra to celebrate Ghana’s independence from Great Britain. King meets with Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah, who reportedly tells King that “Ghana would never be able to accept the American ideology of freedom and democracy fully until America settles its own internal racial strife.”(Photos: Landov)

A United Front - Martin Luther King Jr. sits on the speaker’s platform with civil rights leaders Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph and Rev. Thomas Kilgore Jr. during the Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington D.C., on May 17, 1957. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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A United Front - Martin Luther King Jr. sits on the speaker’s platform with civil rights leaders Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph and Rev. Thomas Kilgore Jr. during the Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington D.C., on May 17, 1957. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

King’s Pledge to Total Nonviolence - King meets with Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, in July of 1957. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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King’s Pledge to Total Nonviolence - King meets with Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, in July of 1957. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

Dr. King Visits India - Upon the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. King and Mrs. King visit India in 1959. King had long been acquainted with Mohandas Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent social protest. During his trip he exchanged ideas with other followers of Gandhi’s teachings.(Photos: Richard Sheinwald/Landov; Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

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Dr. King Visits India - Upon the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. King and Mrs. King visit India in 1959. King had long been acquainted with Mohandas Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolent social protest. During his trip he exchanged ideas with other followers of Gandhi’s teachings.(Photos: Richard Sheinwald/Landov; Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

Leaders in Action - Martin Luther King Jr., Attorney General Robert Kennedy, activist Roy Wilkins and Vice President Lyndon Johnson convene after a special White House conference on civil rights on June 22, 1963.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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Leaders in Action - Martin Luther King Jr., Attorney General Robert Kennedy, activist Roy Wilkins and Vice President Lyndon Johnson convene after a special White House conference on civil rights on June 22, 1963.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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The 1963 March on Washington  - Dr. King and other civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy before the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. On that day, standing before the Lincoln Memorial, King famously delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.(Photo: UPI/Cecil Stoughton/White House/John F. Kennedy Library /Landov)

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The 1963 March on Washington - Dr. King and other civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy before the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. On that day, standing before the Lincoln Memorial, King famously delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.(Photo: UPI/Cecil Stoughton/White House/John F. Kennedy Library /Landov)

A Chance Encounter - Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X before the start of a press conference on March 26, 1964. This is one of the only known photographs of the two civil rights activists together. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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A Chance Encounter - Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X before the start of a press conference on March 26, 1964. This is one of the only known photographs of the two civil rights activists together. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

King Travels to the North - Martin Luther King looks on as wife Coretta Scott King greets New York City Mayor Robert Wagner in 1964.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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King Travels to the North - Martin Luther King looks on as wife Coretta Scott King greets New York City Mayor Robert Wagner in 1964.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

Photo By Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress

A Step Toward Peace - In July, Dr. King shakes hands with President Lyndon Johnson after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in Washington D.C.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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A Step Toward Peace - In July, Dr. King shakes hands with President Lyndon Johnson after the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act in Washington D.C.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

London Calling - Canon John Collins, head of Christian Action, a group that supported activists fighting against South African apartheid, invites King to deliver a speech at City Temple Hall in London on Dec. 7, 1964. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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London Calling - Canon John Collins, head of Christian Action, a group that supported activists fighting against South African apartheid, invites King to deliver a speech at City Temple Hall in London on Dec. 7, 1964. (Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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King Becomes Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Recipient - Dr. King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1964. He accepts the award in Oslo, Norway, and announces he will donate "every penny" of the $54,123 prize money to furthering the civil rights movement in the United States.(Photo: National Archive/Newsmakers/Getty Images)

Crossing Religious Lines - Rabbi Abraham Heschel presents the Judaism and World Peace award to Dr. King on Dec. 7, 1965.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)

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Crossing Religious Lines - Rabbi Abraham Heschel presents the Judaism and World Peace award to Dr. King on Dec. 7, 1965.(Photo: Courtesy of The Library of Congress)