Thanksgiving Day 2024 History Timeline. In 2024, thanksgiving day is celebrated on the fourth thursday in november— november 28. President james madison proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be held on april 13, 1815, the last such proclamation issued by a president until abraham lincoln did so in 1862.

An unusual annual day of thanksgiving began in 1606 following the failure of the gunpowder plot in 1605 and developed into guy fawkes day on november 5. America’s thanksgiving holiday, born in the 1500s, mythologized in 1621, and observed even during the bleakest hours of the civil war, now stands as one of the nation’s most anticipated and beloved days — celebrated.