Timeline of First Thanksgiving
1517—Martin Luther starts the “protest” that begins the Reformation
1533—King Henry VIII asks the Pope for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon
1534—England breaks off from the Roman Catholic Church, begins the Church of England
1536—Anne Boleyn executed, leaves a daughter, Elizabeth
1537—Jane Seymour gives birth to Edward VI, future King of England
1547—Henry VIII dies leaving three children as heirs
1547-1553—Edward VI rules and makes England a Protestant nation
1553-1558—Queen Mary returns England to the Roman Catholic Church (Bloody Mary)
1558-1603—Queen Elizabeth rules, ends religious division, the “middle way”
1559—England passes legislation creating the Church of England with Protestant doctrine
1564—Protestant clergy exiled under Mary return and start the “Separatist” or Puritan churches
1606—Puritans migrate to Leiden, Netherlands
1620—Puritans joint venture with London investors to begin a trading colony in America
1620—in June the Mayflower and Speedwell set sail for Virginia, Speedwell sinks
1620—September 16, the Mayflower leaves England for Virginia
1620—November 11 the Mayflower lands at Cape Cod
1620—December 21 the Mayflower lands at the sight for the Plymouth Colony
1621—September, first Thanksgiving feast lasts three days
1789—President George Washington proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving
1863—President Abraham Lincoln establishes an annual tradition of Day of Thanksgiving
1941—U.S. Congress passes a law for a legal holiday on the 4th Thursday every November
