Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2016 takes place on Monday January 18, and millions of Americans across the globe will be celebrating the federal holiday, which marks the birthday of the civil rights movement icon.
Even though the actual birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. was on January 15, each year the day is celebrated on the third Monday of January.
MLK was assassinated in 1968, and President Ronald Reagan signed the federal holiday into law in 1983, with the first nationwide MLK Day holiday taking place three years later in 1986.
Interestingly Reagan was originally opposed to the idea of a federal holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday, citing cost concerns surrounding the implementation of the day. However, a bill was proposed by Rep. Katie Hall of Indiana to create the dat, and that passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 338 to 90, which was a majority enough to see off any veto threat to the proposals.
A Federal Holiday Commission has also been set up to oversee the observance of the holiday, and Loretta Scott King, MLK's wife, was made a member for life of the commission in 1989 by President George H W Bush.
Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is of course probably most well know globally for his "I Have a Dream" speech.
To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2016 please feel free to see the full transcript of the iconic speech through the National Archives by clicking here.
