A Thanksgiving meal was celebrated in Virginia in 1619

Thanksgiving, explained

Thanksgiving may be synonymous with turkey and pie today, but its roots trace back to a 1621 feast between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, who gathered to celebrate the settlers’ first successful harvest.

Many myths continue to circulate about the first Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving myth didn’t really start in 1621, argues historian David Silverman in this interview with Smithsonian. Rather, it took hold over 200 years later. During the Civil War, Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln as a way to promote national unity. The tidy story of friendship between Native Americans and colonists was used to quell racial tensions of the late 19th century.

Read the only surviving eyewitness account of the first Thanksgiving

Edward Winslow’s short 1621 letter offers the only firsthand account of the first Thanksgiving, describing celebratory gunfire that drew Wampanoag leader Massasoit and 90 men—initially fearing conflict—before the gathering turned into shared feasting.

Explore early Thanksgiving documents, from recipes to early proclamations

History buffs will love this trove of original documents related to the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving, including 18th-century recipes, one of Sarah Josepha Hale’s appeals to President Lincoln to establish the national holiday, and a copy of Abraham Lincoln’s original 1863 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. You can also find illustrations and photos of historical Thanksgiving celebrations over the years.

The first Thanksgiving meal likely featured a venison stew called sobaheg

Agricultural knowledge was vital to the Pilgrims’ survival in a new, unknown land. Explore how to make sobaheg, a Wampanoag venison stew that would likely have been served at the first meal between the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims.

The 1621 Pilgrim-Wampanoag peace treaty was the first of its kind

The Wampanoag people, weakened by disease, were at risk of being forcefully subsumed by the neighboring Narragansett tribe. Recognizing an opportunity, the Wampanoag offered the settlers necessary survival skills in exchange for protection through the settlers’ firearms. The treaty remained in place for more than 40 years.

Turkey likely wasn't served at the first Thanksgiving

There is no record of turkey on that first table, though one account vaguely refers to "fowl." The meal mostly consisted of seafood and venison.

Thanksgiving's connection to football began in 1876

It all started with a match between Princeton and Yale in 1876, attended by fewer than 1,000 fans. That competition spawned an annual tradition attracting millions of viewers across college and professional teams.

The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in 1924

It was originally intended to promote Macy’s upcoming holiday sales. Although it took place on Thanksgiving Day, the parade was initially called the Macy’s Christmas Parade—the name didn’t change until 1927.

Spanish colonists celebrated alongside the Seloy tribe in Florida in 1565

Long before the 1621 meal between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés and 800 Spanish settlers founded the city of St. Augustine in Spanish la Florida. They celebrated the founding with a Mass of Thanksgiving with the Indigenous Seloy tribe.

The annual 'turkey pardon' officially began in 1989

President George HW Bush oversaw the first official pardon, but the tradition began years before that. This short video from PBS News explores the history of presidential pardons for the lucky birds. There’s no “fowl” language, but there are plenty of puns!

The oldest restaurants in the US

This list features several establishments that have been around since before the Declaration of Independence, including the White Horse Tavern, in Newport, Rhode Island, and New York's Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington dismissed his troops at the end of the Revolutionary War.

European colonists encountered barbecue by the 16th century

They called the food “barbacoa” and spread the technique throughout their territories, including the American colonies. The first recorded mention in English appeared in John Lederer’s travelogue of Virginia and the Carolinas in 1672.

The story of the first British royal visit to the US in 1939

Amid pre-World War II diplomatic efforts in June 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth I (not her better-known daughter, Elizabeth II) became the first reigning British monarchs to visit the US—163 years after the colonies declared independence from Great Britain. The five-day meeting began with two formal days in Washington, DC, before concluding at FDR's estate in Hyde Park, where the monarchs reportedly enjoyed hot dogs for the first time.

A timeline of colonial settlement

An overview of early American settlement, beginning with the London Company's expedition to Virginia. Source includes a number of citations for further reading.

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which directly influenced the US Constitution

Drafted by Jefferson, the statute guaranteed freedom of worship to people of all faiths. Jefferson considered it one of his greatest achievements, and it served as the direct model for the First Amendment's religion clauses.

The American colonies recognized New Year’s Eve in March until 1752

England followed the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, which had an inaccurate method of calculating leap years. Because of that, New Year’s Day eventually slipped into the spring and was linked with the Christian festival of the Annunciation, which was on March 25. That date carried over to the American colonies, which didn’t change the first day of the new year until 1752, after England adopted the newer Gregorian calendar.

The Wrights descended from English-born migrants to Boston in the 1630s

Samuel Wright was a Puritan who arrived in Massachusetts just two decades after the Pilgrims. His great-great-grandson Daniel Wright, born in Connecticut in 1757, fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, seeing action at the Battle of Saratoga.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

John and Abigail Adams were the first to live in the White House, which was largely unfinished

President John Adams moved into the unfinished White House on Nov. 1, 1800, followed by first lady Abigail Adams, who used the East Room to dry laundry. The building lacked heat and plaster, with construction continuing for months.

The earliest Advent was a Lent-like fast beginning Nov. 11

In 490, Bishop Perpetuus of Tours ordered Christians to fast three days a week from St. Martin’s Day (Nov. 11) until Christmas. This 40-day season—called St. Martin’s Lent—is one of the earliest documented forms of Advent.

The first known mention of the term 'country' to describe music was in 1736

The November 26, 1736 issue of the Virginia Gazette described a fiddling contest for "country" musicians. While the musical style would go by many names over the next two centuries, "country" was the one that eventually stuck.

An in-depth history of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot

Guy Fawkes Day has been celebrated on November 5 in the United Kingdom for over four centuries, with bonfires, fireworks, and effigies. But who was Guy Fawkes, really? Learn about the Catholic radical who was a member of a group of 13 men eventually executed for their attempts to blow up Parliament and the king.

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth, deepening US fears of falling behind in the space race. Watch archival footage to see why the mission was such a historic turning point.

Europe’s first recorded influenza pandemic swept the continent in 1580

The 1580 influenza pandemic, traced from Asia to Africa and into Europe, became the first flu outbreak clearly documented across the continent—killing tens of thousands and highlighting influenza’s potential for rapid global spread.

The Vietnam Women's Memorial was the first monument to American military women on the Mall

Dedicated in 1993, the Vietnam Women's Memorial became the first monument on the National Mall honoring American military women and recognizing the estimated 11,000 women who served in Vietnam.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Elk Cloner, the first computer virus to spread in public, was written as a practical joke by Richard Skrenta, a Pittsburgh high school student.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.