1. Martin Luther King Jr Day Was Signed Into Federal Law In 1983... But It Did Not Become Observed By All 50 States Until 2000
Martin Luther King Jr Day may have been officially signed into US federal law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 (even though he initially opposed it due to cost fears), but it was not officially observed by all 50 states until the turn of the millennium. The first Martin Luther King Jr Day was celebrated on January 20, 1986 - but Arizona (1992), New Hampshire (1999) and finally Utah (2000) were extremely slow to make it a holiday. Initially many states resisted observing the holiday - with some giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays - and it took until the year 2000 for it to be officially celebrated in all 50 states of the USA.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
