On this day in 1983, national holiday declared in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

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Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks in Alabama, Feb. 1968. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly)
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On Nov. 2, 1983, a federal holiday was declared in honor of the great civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the bill signed by President Reagan, every third Monday of January would from then on be observed as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Atlanta-native was born in 1929 to a family of Baptist pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. He studied at Morehouse College and Boston University.

During his unwavering involvement in the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed and the 24th Amendment was ratified.

His continued work in civil rights was cut short when King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

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