Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the day we pause to honor the civil rights hero.
Martin Luther King was a minister and civil rights activist who was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. His non-violent leadership of the civil rights movement continues to inspire generations of Americans.
On November 2, 1983, Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana, to create a federal holiday honoring King. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, and is now celebrated on the third Monday of January.