The Story of Writing

Isaac Singer patents his sewing machine, Sue Hendrickson discovers the biggest and best skeleton of a T-Rex, and NAFTA happens. Happy birthdays to Radclyffe Hall, Erwin Schrodinger, and William Goldm…

Quite the birthday club: Era Bell Thompson, Leo Fender, Dolores Alexander, Suzanne Collins, and Rachel Simmons - with a reading from Willa Cather's "The Song of the Lark."

Henry David Thoreau publishes "Walden," Smokey the Bear appears for the first time, and the U.S. drops its second atomic bomb on Japan. Today's reading is from "Red Badge of Courage," by Stephen Cran…

Confederate General Robert E. Lee tries to resign his command after losing nearly 30,000 soldiers in the battle of Gettysburg. The Allies sign the London Charter, which established the Nuremberg Tria…

U.S. President George Washington crushes the Whiskey Rebellion, Thor Heyerdahl's ship, the "Kon Tiki," reaches the Tuamotu Islands in the South Pacific, and Frances Kelsey is recognized for refusing …

The U.S. drops the first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima, Japan, the U.S. Voting Rights Act becomes law, and "www" appears as a service for the first time. The birthday club includes: Alfred…

Some 40 years before the American Revolution, freedom of the press goes on trial in the colonies and the U.S. levies its first income tax. The birthday club includes Guy de Maupassant, Mary Ritter Be…

Dom Perignon changes sparkling wine, "The Saturday Evening Post" publishes its first edition, and the Fairness Doctrine is ended in the U.S. Happy birthdays to Nicolas-Jacques Conte, Percy Bysshe She…

Christopher Columbus sets sail from Spain, the first letter is sent from the Americas to England, and happy birthdays to Ernie Pyle and Leon Uris - with a reading from Pyle's "Here is Your War."

Albert Einstein co-signs a letter to President Roosevelt urging him to develop a nuclear weapon. And it is the birthday of James Baldwin - with a reading from one of his masterworks, "The Fire Next T…

The UK abolishes slavery, shredded wheat is patented, Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman in the U.S. to get her pilot's license, and happy birthdays to Francis Scott Key and Herman Melville - wit…

Daniel Defoe is locked in the pillory for three days, it's "Black Tot Day," the U.S. and Soviet Union sign the START 1 Treaty. Happy birthdays of Ignacio Cervantes, Primo Levi, Ahmet Ertegun, and J. …

Samuel de Champlain starts nearly a century of war in New France, Walt Disney releases his first Oscar winner, and happy birthdays to Maria Anna Mozart and Emily Bronte - with a reading from Bronte's…

The understanding of light changes and the world tries to define war crimes and limit them. Happy birthdays to Alexis de Tocqueville and Mary Lee Settle - with a reading from Tocqueville's "Democracy…

Lavinia Ream is commissioned to create a statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, Pres. Hoover orders the removal of the "Bonus Army" from Washington, and t…

Things head south for the actual MacBeth, Robespierre is arrested, researchers prove insulin regulates blood sugar, Bugs Bunny appears in a Merry Melodies short for the first time - with a reading fr…

The U.S. Post Office is created, the first book on Esperanto was published, and the major world powers signed the Potsdam Declaration. Happy birthdays to quite a trio: George Bernard Shaw, Carl Jung,…

Mozart finishes his 40th Symphony, Jack London sails from San Francisco for gold in the Yukon, and JFK says any attack on West Berlin would be treated as an attack on the U.S. Happy birthday to Anne …

O. Henry gets out of prison, the Kellogg-Briand Pact goes into effect, SCOTUS rules Pres. Nixon could not ignore a subpoena for the White House tapes. Happy birthdays to Alexandre Dumas and Zelda Fit…