Sara Josepha Hale ,

Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879) was an influential American writer, editor, and activist best known for authoring the nursery rhyme 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' and editing Godey's Lady's Book, the most widely circulated magazine before the Civil War. Widowed young with five children, she championed women's education, campaigned successfully for Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and supported causes like the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument and abolitionism through her novels and journalism.[1][2][4]