The Story of Writing

The New York Times publishes its first edition and Booker T. Washington delivers his Atlanta Exposition Speech on Race Relations. This episode includes a reading from L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Gree…

The U.S. Constitution is approved, the Battle of Antietam changes the course of the U.S. Civil War, and the birthday club includes William Carlos Williams, John Creasey, Elizabeth Enright, Mary Stewa…

The world signs the Montreal Protocol and the birthday club includes Francis Parkman and H. A. Rey - with a reading from Parkman's "The Oregon Trail."

Charles Darwin reaches the Galápagos Islands, the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama is bombed by the KKK, and it is the birthday of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - with a reading from Adic…

Handel's "Messiah" is written and the birthday club includes William H. Armstrong, Kate Millett, Bernard MacLaverty, and Bonnie Jo Campbell - with a reading from Millett's "Sexual Politics."

U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivers his speech "We Choose to Go to the Moon," and the birthday club includes H. L. Mencken, Nellie Wong, and Michael Ondaatje - with a reading from Mencken's diary…

Charles Lindbergh reveals his thinking on WWII, and the birthday club includes O. Henry and D. H. Lawrence - with a reading from Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

John Smith becomes one of the first elected leaders from Europe in North America, Elias Howe gets the patent for his sewing machine, and the birthday club includes Hanna Webster Foster, Mary Oliver, …

The Compromise of 1850 changes the US, "debugging" becomes real, and the birthday club includes Leo Tolstoy, Kimberly Willis Holt, and Adam Sandler - with a reading from Tolstoy's classic "Anna Karen…

Michelangelo unveils his sculpture "David," the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance is published - possibly for the first time, the first episode of Star Trek airs, and Richard Nixon is pardoned - with a readi…

Union General William T. Sherman orders the evacuation of Atlanta, and the birthday club includes C. J. Dennis, Elinor Wylie, Edith Sitwell, Dorothy Marie Donnelly, and Sonny Rollins - with a reading…

The Mayflower sets sail, women in Wyoming start voting in 1870, and the birthday club includes Isabella Leonarda, Jane Addams, and Robert Pirsig - with a reading from Addams' speech to the Chicago Po…

The Czar puts a tax on beards, the UK declares war on China - over opium, the WWII propagandist "Tokyo Rose" is arrested, and it is the birthday of Jonathan Kozol - with a reading from his book "Sava…

Los Angeles is founded, Kodak is registered, Evelyn Waugh publishes "A Handful of Dust," and the birthday club includes Richard Wright and Beyonce - with a reading from Kate Douglas Wiggin's "Rebecca…

English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell dies, UK and U.S. officials sign the Treaty of Paris - ending the American Revolutionary War, and Frederick Douglass escapes slavery. The UN institutes the inte…

Theodore Roosevelt says - for the first time - "Speak softly and carry a big stick," and Japan surrenders to end combat in WWII, and the birthday club includes Eugene Field and Billy Preston - with a…

The first female phone operator takes the reins, Germany invades Poland to start WWII, and the birthday club includes Johann Pachelbel, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Harriet Shaw Weaver, Liz Carpenter, and L…