This Day in History: <br />FDR Establishes the<br />Modern Thanksgiving Holiday November 26, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt <br />signed a bill officially establishing <br />the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. In 1939, Roosevelt had departed <br />from tradition by declaring the next<br />to last Thursday that year <br />as Thanksgiving Day. The tradition dated back to <br />President Abraham Lincoln, <br />who declared Thanksgiving to <br />fall on the last Thursday of November. Franklin's deviation sparked <br />considerable controversy, with <br />some Americans refusing to honor <br />the declaration. But Roosevelt repeated <br />the unpopular proclamation <br />for the next two years. In 1941, the president admitted <br />his mistake and signed the bill <br />establishing the modern national <br />holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
