The Story of Writing

A woman performs on stage - for the first time - in England, and happy birthdays to John Banville and Mary Gordon - with a reading from Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth."

The bombing of Pear Harbor, and happy birthdays to Willa Cather and Harry Chapin - with a reading from Cather's "My Antonia."

Georgia becomes the last state needed to ratify the 13th Amendment - ending slavery in the US, President Theodore Roosevelt states his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and the Irish Free State is bo…

Georgia becomes the last state needed to ratify the 13th Amendment - ending slavery in the US, President Theodore Roosevelt states his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and the Irish Free State is bo…

Mary McLeod Bethune establishes the National Council of Negro Women, the Montgomery Bus Boycott begins, and the birthday club includes Christina Rosetti, Walt Disney, Little Richard, and Joan Didion …

North Carolina ratifies the 13th Amendment, the "Million-Dollar Quartet" records their only session, and the Free Speech Movement begins in Berkeley. And happy birthday to Rainer Maria Rilke - with a…

The birthday club includes Octavia Hill, Joseph Conrad, and Gussie Davis - with a reading from Kate Chopin's "The Awakening."

Sweden becomes the first country to protect freedom of the press, and the birthday club includes David Macaulay, Elizabeth Berg, T. C Boyle, George Saunders, and Ann Patchett - with a reading from Ro…

The U.S. holds its first draft lottery since World War II, and the birthday club includes Jan Brett, Candace Bushnell, and Jo Walton - with a reading from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein."

Ann Hodges gets hit by a meteor and the birthday club includes Samuel Clemens, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Shirley Chisholm, and Allan Sherman - with a reading from Clemens' "Pudd'nhead Wilson."

The Beatles release "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," Atari releases Pong, and happy birthdays to Louisa May Alcott, C. S. Lewis, and Madeleine L'Engle - with a reading from Alcott's "Little Women."

The Times of London switches to steam-powered presses, and happy birthdays to Berry Gordy and Rita Mae Brown - with a reading from Sarah Orne Jewett's "The Country of the Pointed Firs."

The American Statistical Association is founded, "Also Sprach Zarathustra" premiers, and happy birthdays to Charles A. Beard and Gail Sheehy - with a reading from Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte…

The Hull note is presented to Japanese officials on the same day a Japanese strike force sets off to attack Pearl Harbor and happy birthdays to Sarah Moore Grimke and Charles M. Schultz - with a read…

Albert Einstein presents his theory of general relativity, The Hollywood Ten are blacklisted by movie studios, and the Reagan Administration is found guilty of selling weapons to Iran in order to fun…

"Black Beauty" is published, and the birthday club includes Frances Hodgson Burnett and Arundhati Roy - with a reading from Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden."

John Milton publishes the proclamation defending freedom of the press "Areopagitica," the U.S. bars prescriptions of beer, Hubble publishes his proof that Andromeda was a galaxy, and the BBC airs the…

The birthday club includes George Eliot, Hoagy Carmichael, Rodney Dangerfield, and Terry Gilliam - with a reading from Eliot's "Mill on the Floss."

Ole Romer presents his calculations on the speed of light, and happy birthdays to Voltaire and Elizabeth George Speare - with a reading from Voltaire's "Candide."