President Biden Greets Guests at 2023 Turkey Pardon Ceremony
This photograph of the President Joseph R. Biden greeting guests at the 2023 turkey pardon ceremony was taken by Matthew DAgostino on November 20, 2023 on the South Lawn of the White House. President Joseph R. Biden oversaw the ceremony alongside Steve Lykken, chairman of the National Turkey Federation (NTF), and Jennie-O Turkey Store vice president Jose Rojas. During the ceremony, President Biden formally pardoned the official National Thanksgiving Turkey, Liberty, and the alternate, Bell. Liberty and Bell were raised by Jennie-O in Willmar, Minnesota. After the ceremony, the turkeys were transferred to the University of Minnesota to be looked after and cared for the remainder of their lives. Presidents and their families have received turkeys for the holidays since the 1870s. The origin of the turkey pardon, however, dates to 1863when President Abraham Lincoln offered clemency to a turkey purchased for Christmas dinner at his son's request. The pardoning of a Thanksgiving turkey became a formalized tradition during the George H. W. Bush administration.
Photographer
Matthew D'Agostino
Date of Work
November 20, 2023
Type
Photograph
Credit
Matthew D'Agostino for the White House Historical Association
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For more than two hundred years, France and the United States have enjoyed a relationship unparalleled in world history. From the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers to the current administration, these two countries have shared a strong connection through art, culture, and history. This collection highlights that connection and the protocol of official foreign visits by French heads of
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JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is the Executive Director of the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes, Delaware. His publications include JANSEN, JANSEN Furniture, and Baltimore’s Billy Baldwin. He is the co-author of Designing Camelot. (WHH #60)
WILLIAM ADAIR is a frame historian, conservator, and gilder in Washington, D.C. (WHH #54)
MATTHEW ALGEO is a writer and journalist. He is the author of se
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 6 (COLLECTION I)
WHITE HOUSE HISTORY • NUMBER 1
1 — Foreword by Melvin M. Payne
5 — President Kennedy’s Rose Garden by Rachel Lambert Mellon
13 — White House Album: History in the Camera’s Eye by Oliver Jensen
23 — The Association’s Twentieth Year by Nash Castro
29 — History in White House Silver by Joseph D. Carr
39 — Stone Walls Preserved by James I. McDaniel
46 — A Colored Man’s Reminiscences of
2023
2023 Best Book Awards
Furnishing the White House: The Decorative Arts Collection, Finalist, Art
Life in the White House, Finalist, History: United States
The Official White House Christmas Ornament: Collected Stories of a Holiday Tradition, Winner, Novelty & Gift Book
Rocco at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Finalist, Children's Nonfiction
Rocco at the White House Easter Egg Roll, Finalist, Children's
Authors
JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is currently the executive director at Wright’s Ferry Mansion in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Abbott has served as director of Johns Hopkins University’s Evergreen Museum & Library, curator of American and European decorative arts for the Baltimore Museum of Art, and curator and educator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boscobel House and Gardens, and Hist