<Tr> <Th> Frequency </Th> <Td> Yearly </Td> </Tr> <P> Martin Luther King Jr . Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr .) is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr . It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King's birthday, January 15 . The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act . The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21 . </P> <P> King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law . The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968 . President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later . At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays . It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article is part of a series about Martin Luther King Jr . </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> Biography </Li> <Li> Sermons and speeches </Li> </Ul> <P> Campaigns </P> <Ul> <Li> Montgomery bus boycott </Li> <Li> Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom </Li> <Li> Youth March for Integrated Schools </Li> <Li> Albany Movement </Li> <Li> Birmingham campaign </Li> <Li> Walk to Freedom </Li> <Li> March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom </Li> <Li> St. Augustine movement </Li> <Li> Selma to Montgomery marches </Li> <Li> Chicago Open Housing Movement </Li> <Li> March Against Fear </Li> <Li> Memphis sanitation strike </Li> <Li> Poor People's Campaign </Li> </Ul> <P> Death and memorial </P> <Ul> <Li> Assassination </Li> <Li> American federal holiday </Li> <Li> National memorial </Li> <Li> National Historical Park </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When did martin luther king jr day become a national holiday