when was martin luther king day established

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1983 and first observed nationwide on January 20, 1986.

Key dates

• Congress passed legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday in 1983, and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on November 2, 1983.

• The holiday was first celebrated as a federal holiday on January 20, 1986, observed on the third Monday in January.

Short background

• Efforts to establish the holiday began soon after King’s assassination in 1968, with bills introduced in Congress that initially failed due to opposition.

• Over the following years, civil rights activists, citizens, and some states honored King’s birthday on their own, helping build momentum for the eventual federal holiday in 1983.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.