On This Day
1789 – A national Thanksgiving Day is observed in the United States as proclaimed by President George Washington at the request of Congress.
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.[1] It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving (outside the United States) to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name. It originated as a harvest festival, and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie. In American culture Thanksgiving is regarded as the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, which includes Christmas and the New Year.
The event that Americans commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621.[2] This feast lasted three days, and—as recounted by attendee Edward Winslow—[3] was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims.[4] The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as a military victory or the end of a drought.[5]
Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, with a proclamation by President George Washington after a request by Congress.[6] President Thomas Jefferson chose not to observe the holiday, and its celebration was intermittent until President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.[7][8] On June 28, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the Holidays Act that made Thanksgiving a yearly appointed federal holiday in Washington D.C.[9][10][11] On January 6, 1885, an act by Congress made Thanksgiving, and other federal holidays, a paid holiday for all federal workers throughout the United States.[12] Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the date was moved to one week earlier, observed between 1939 and 1941 amid significant controversy. From 1942 onwards, Thanksgiving, by an act of Congress, signed into law by FDR, received a permanent observation date, the fourth Thursday in November, no longer at the discretion of the President.[13][14]
Born On This Day
1832 – Mary Edwards Walker, American surgeon and activist, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1919)
Mary Edwards Walker, M.D. (November 26, 1832 – February 21, 1919), commonly referred to as Dr. Mary Walker, was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war and surgeon.[1] She is the only woman to ever receive the Medal of Honor.[2]
In 1855, she earned her medical degree at Syracuse Medical College in New York,[3] married and started a medical practice. She volunteered with the Union Army at the outbreak of the American Civil War and served as a surgeon at a temporary hospital in Washington, D.C., even though at the time women and sectarian[clarification needed] physicians were considered unfit for the Union Army Examining Board.[4] She was captured by Confederate forces[3] after crossing enemy lines to treat wounded civilians and arrested as a spy. She was sent as a prisoner of war to Richmond, Virginia until released in a prisoner exchange.
After the war, she was approved for the Medal of Honor, for her efforts to treat the wounded during the Civil War. Notably, the award was not expressly given for gallantry in action at that time, and in fact was the only military decoration during the Civil War. Walker is the only woman to receive the medal and one of only eight civilians to receive it. Her name was deleted from the Army Medal of Honor Roll in 1917 (along with over 900 other, male MOH recipients); however, it was restored in 1977.[3] After the war, she was a writer and lecturer supporting the women’s suffrage movement until her death in 1919.
FYI
By Colin Marshall, Open Culture: A Flying Car Took to the Skies in Back 1949: See the Taylor Aerocar in Action
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: The Beatles Create an Abstract Collaborative Painting, Images of a Woman, During Three Days of Lockdown in Japan (1966)
By Josh Jones, Open Culture: Stevie Ray Vaughan Gives a Blistering Demonstration of His Guitar Technique
Our Third Thirds: Pearl of Wisdom #2
Recipes
DamnDelicious
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup November 9, 2024This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details. An easy one pot soup using rotisserie chicken and quick-cooking tortellini, made in 40 min start to finish! Cozy, comforting, rich with an oh-so-creamy chicken broth…what more do you need here? Oh that’s right, cheesy tortellini. Yes, please! Not to mention, this […]Chungah @ Damn Delicious
- Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce November 2, 2024This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details. The quickest (BEST!) 25 min dinner. With a nutty garlicky brown butter sauce, crispy sage & toasted pecans! Fall is in full swing and sage brown butter takes all of the glory here. And I really do mean, ALL OF THE GLORY. […]Chungah @ Damn Delicious
RecipeTinEats
- New Orleans Chicken Wings November 19, 2024Why settle for plain chicken wings when you can have bold, spicy, New Orleans sass?! Tossed in Creole seasoning and garlic butter then baked until golden, the smell alone will make you drool. Easy enough for dinner, excellent for parties. Get in my belly! New Orleans Chicken Wings Today’s recipe is inspired by New Orleans... […]Nagi
- Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger October 24, 2024This is my copycat of the FAMOUS Nando’s Peri Peri Chicken Burger! A homemade Peri Peri Sauce does double duty as the marinade for the Portuguese style grilled chicken and to make a tingly creamy Peri Peri “Perinaise” pink sauce. Excellent for summer BBQs! Nando’s copycat Peri Peri Chicken Burgers Nando’s is a global chain... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 22 November 22, 2024Picture of the day Sanderling (Calidris alba) looking for food on the beach of Westkapelle, Netherlands.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for November 21 November 21, 2024Picture of the day This technical illustration shows early hot air balloon designs. The first untethered manned hot air balloon flight was performed by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes on this day in 1783.
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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