Nobel Peace Prize winner and visionary civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died on April 4, 1968, but it took 32 years for a government holiday in his honor to be recognized by all fifty states. Dr. King’s birthday was signed into law as a federal holiday in 1983 and took effect three years later on January 20, 1986. However, it was not until 2000 that all fifty states officially observed the holiday.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and visionary civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., died on April 4, 1968, but it took 32 years for a holiday honoring him to be recognized by all fifty states. Dr. King’s birthday was signed into law as a federal holiday in 1983 and took effect three years later on January 20, 1986. However, it was not until 2000 that all fifty states officially observed the holiday.
