Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale.

Largely self-taught, Hale worked as a schoolteacher and poet early in life.  Among her most famous poems was “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” which was published in 1830.  In 1837, Hale began in forty year career as editor of the Philadelphia-based ladies journal Godey’s Ladies Magazine. During her tenure, Hale oversaw contributions from such writers as Washington Irving, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Her crusade for Thanksgiving began in 1846.  Prior to this, Thanksgiving, though recognized since the 1790s, was a localized holiday held at each state’s choosing.  Hale believed that America had too few holidays and that having periodic nationwide celebrations (like Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July) would foster togetherness and raise morale across the country.  She wrote letters to five presidents before her efforts were finally rewarded by Abraham Lincoln, who established legislation in 1863 that made Thanksgiving a national holiday.

HSP’s library contains several works on Sarah Hale and her contributions to the literary world, such as The Lady of Godey’s: Sarah Josepha Hale by Ruth E. Finley (Gh .0699) and Our Sister Editors: Sarah J. Hale and the tradition of nineteenth-century American women, editored by Patricia Okker (PS 1774.H2 Z83 1995).