Daily Calendar for Thursday, November 28, 2024

In a 1789 proclamation, President George Washington called on the people of the United States to acknowledge God for affording them β€œan opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness” by observing a day of thanksgiving. Devoting a day to β€œpublic thanksgiving and prayer,” as Washington called it, became a yearly tradition in many communities.

Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863. In that year, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. He asked his fellow citizens to β€œto set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise …”

It was not until 1941 that Congress designated the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day, thus creating a federal holiday.

However official, the idea of a special day for giving thanks was not born of presidential proclamations. Native American harvest festivals had been celebrated for centuries, and colonial services dated back to the late 16th century. Thanksgiving Day, as we know it today, began in the early 1600s when settlers in both Massachusetts and Virginia came together to give thanks for their survival, for the fertility of their fields, and for their faith. The most widely known early Thanksgiving is that of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, who feasted for 3 days with the Wampanoag people in 1621.

Turkey has become the traditional Thanksgiving fare because at one time it was a rare treat. During the 1830s, an eight- to ten-pound bird cost a day’s wages. Even though turkeys are affordable today, they still remain a celebratory symbol of bounty. In fact, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin ate roast turkey in foil packets for their first meal on the Moon.

Find more about Thanksgiving Day from history to recipes.

Born

  • William Blake (poet) –
  • Friedrich Engels (philosopher) –
  • Earl Grey (Canadian Governor General 1904 - 1911) –
  • James Connolly (first champion of modern Olympics) –
  • Henry Bacon (architect) –
  • Alberto Moravia (writer) –
  • Berry Gordy, Jr. (founder of Motown Records) –
  • Gary Hart (politician) –
  • Paul Warfield (football player) –
  • Randy Newman (singer & songwriter) –
  • Alexander Godunov (composer, ballet dancer, & actor) –
  • Paul Shaffer (musician & composer) –
  • Ed Harris (actor) –
  • Dave Righetti (baseball player) –
  • Judd Nelson (actor) –
  • Jon Stewart (actor) –
  • Mary Elizabeth Winstead (actress) –
  • Scarlett N. Pomers (actress) –

Died

  • Washington Irving (writer) –
  • James Naismith (invented game of basketball) –
  • Dwight Davis (tennis player) –
  • Garry Moore (comedian) –
  • Leslie Nielsen (actor) –
  • Dale Armstrong (drag racer) –

Events

  • Navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific, emerging from what is now known as the Strait of Magellan –
  • Banff Hot Springs Reserve (later renamed Banff National Park) established –
  • North Pacific Canning Company formed, British Columbia –
  • First recorded automobile race in America. Six cars left Chicago’s Jackson Park for a 54 mile race to Evanston, Illinois, and back through the snow –
  • Grand Ole Opry made its radio debut –
  • In Boston, Massachusetts, a fire in the Cocoanut Grove night club killed 492 people –
  • John Lennon made a concert appearance at NYC’s Madison Square Garden –
  • U.S. bill signed allowing states to set their own speed limits –

Weather

  • Thomas Jefferson recorded in his journal: β€œIt is so cold that the freezing of the ink on the point of my pen renders it difficult to write.” –
  • A storm on Lake Superior damaged 29 ships –
  • A Lake Superior storm caused waves 20 to 40 feet high –

Explore Other Dates on the Calendar