Editing William R. King (section)

== Legacy and honors==
[[File:William R. D. King Vice President.jpg|thumb|right|[[Frontispiece (book)|Frontispiece]] of book of memorial addresses published after King's death]]In 1852, the [[Oregon Territorial Legislature]] named [[King County, Washington|King County]] for him. King County became part of [[Washington Territory]] when it was created the following year, and then part of the State of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] in 1889. In 1985, the King County government amended its designation and its logo to honor instead the late national [[Civil Rights Movement]] leader [[Martin Luther King Jr.]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Motion No. 6461|url=https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice/mlk/other-resources/motion-6461.aspx|publisher=King County, WA|access-date=29 May 2018|archive-date=30 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035325/https://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice/mlk/other-resources/motion-6461.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> The change was made official April 19, 2005, when Governor [[Christine Gregoire]] signed into law Senate Bill 5332, effective July 24, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title=State law changed to rename King County|url=http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/2005/04/19mlkjrCounty.htm|publisher=King County, Washington|access-date=11 December 2013|archive-date=18 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418072934/http://your.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/2005/04/19mlkjrCounty.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonvotes.org/2005-SB-5332|title=2005 Senate Bill 5332: Honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr|website=WashingtonVotes.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-25|archive-date=2021-07-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210726074022/https://www.washingtonvotes.org/2005-SB-5332|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5332&Year=2005&BillNumber=5332&Year=2005|title=Bill Information, SB 5332 - 2005-06 - Honoring the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.|website=Washington State Legislature|access-date=2018-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926020139/http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5332&Year=2005&BillNumber=5332&Year=2005|archive-date=2018-09-26|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5332.SL.pdf#page=1 ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5332] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302021802/http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2005-06/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5332.SL.pdf#page=1 |date=2021-03-02 }}, 59th [[Washington State Legislature|Legislature of the State of Washington]], 2005 Regular Session.</ref>

The King Residence Quadrangle at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], his alma mater, is named for him.

An 1830 portrait of King is held at New East Hall in the Philanthropic Chambers of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies]], a debating society which he had joined during college.

King was a co-founder of [[Selma, Alabama]], which he named after the [[Ossian]]ic poem "The Songs of Selma".<ref name="alher" /> After his death, city officials and some of King's family wanted to move his body to Selma. Other family members wanted his body to remain at Chestnut Hill. In 1882, the Selma City Council appointed a committee to select a new plot for King's body. His remains were then reinterred in the city's [[Live Oak Cemetery]] under a white marble mausoleum erected by the city.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jaffee|first=Al|title=The Ghoulish Book of Weird Records|publisher=Signet|year=1979|pages=136–140|isbn=0-451-08614-7}}</ref>