Responsible for the deacetylation of lysine residues on the N-terminal part of the core histones (H2A; H2B; H3 and H4). Histone deacetylation gives a tag for epigenetic repression and plays an important role in transcriptional regulation; cell cycle progression and developmental events. Histone deacetylases act via the formation of large multiprotein complexes. Has a role in chromatin assembly and chromosome segregation. {ECO:0000269|PubMed:12773392}.