Abraham Lincoln, father of the Thanksgiving holiday
Abraham Lincoln
Sure, the Pilgrims are credited with starting the tradition of Thanksgiving in America.
But declaring Thanksgiving Day a formal holiday on the fourth Thursday in November required a pair of presidents -- two of the most famous, in fact.
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
It was Lincoln who issued an 1863 proclamation calling on Americans to "set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving," partly to celebrate victories in the then-raging Civil War....
