January
16
Martin
Luther King Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday
marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It
is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which
is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. The floating
holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday
Holiday Act, though the act predated the establishment of Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day by fifteen years.
King was
the chief spokesman 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.
Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was
first observed on January 20, 1986. 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.
History
1219 - Floods in Northern Netherlands after
storm, 1,000s killed
1493 - Columbus returns to Spain on his 1st trip
1761 - The British capture Pondicherry, India from the French.
1900 - The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty
of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to
the Samoan islands.
1909 - British explorer Ernest Shackleton finds magnetic south
pole
1909 - David, Mawson & Mackay reach south magnetic pole
1920 – The League of Nations holds its first council meeting
in Paris.
1920 - Georgia declares independence
1965 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk
USSR
1967 - 1st black government installed in Bahamas
1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever
docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer
of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time
such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
1973 - USSR's Lunakhod 2 begins radio-controlled exploration
of Moon
1989 - USSR announces plan for 2-yr manned mission to Mars
2006 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president.
She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.
Events
Flag Day or Magen David Day (Israel)
Teacher's Day (Thailand)
For details, contact Datacentre
|