October 3 Birthday
On October 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation designating the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving. The holiday had been celebrated informally since the Pilgrims, but it was not a national holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, had been lobbying presidents for thirty-six years to make it official. Lincoln's proclamation came in the middle of the Civil War — a call for a divided nation to give thanks. In 1939, FDR moved Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday to extend the Christmas shopping season. Congress made it permanent in 1941. People born on October 3 fall under the zodiac sign of Libra. The birthstone is Opal and the birth flower is Marigold. Historical events on October 3 include 1863: President Lincoln designates last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, 1932: Iraq gains independence from Britain, 1952: Britain tests first atomic bomb in Australia. Famous people born on October 3 include Gore Vidal (1925), James Herriot (1916), Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954).