President Lincoln was the first President to “pardon” a turkey, but it was not for Thanksgiving. Lincoln got a turkey as a gift for Christmas dinner. His ten year old son Tad fell in love with the bird which he named Jack. One day, he barged into a cabinet meeting to tell his father “He’s a good turkey and I don’t want him killed.” So he wasn’t. Truman also did not start the tradition, but he was the first to receive a turkey from the National Turkey Federation in 1947. This tradition continues, but Truman ate his turkey. A very Truman thing to do. Kennedy did not eat his turkey, but he didn’t call it a pardon. The press did. Nixon sent his turkeys to a petting farm. Reagan jokingly used the word “pardon”, but it was George H.W. Bush who issued the first official pardon.
– Mental Floss
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