The Story of Writing

The Ford Motor Co. sells its first car, Chinese Communists meet for the first time to overthrow capitalism, and Phillippe Petain is put on trial in France for treason. Happy birthday to Raymond Chand…

Katherine Lee Bates starts writing the poem that would become "America the Beautiful." And happy birthday to Emma Lazarus - with a reading of her poem "The New Colossus."

The first showdown in America's Wild West, the Scopes "Monkey" Trial ends with a verdict of guilty, and a reading from Willa Cather's "My Mortal Enemy."

Humans walk on the moon for the first time, and happy birthdays to Gregor Mendel, Tom Crean, Edmund Hillary, and Julie Bindel. Today's episode includes a reading of "Invictus," by William Ernest Henl…

The Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention begins, and it is the birthday of Alice Dunbar-Nelson - with a reading from her poem "If I Had Known."

The Hough Riots choke the streets of Cleveland, and the birthday club includes William Makepeace Thackery, Nelson Mendela, and Hunter S. Thompson. Today's reading is from Jean Ingelow's "Cold and Qui…

Spain sells Florida to the U.S., Willis Carrier draws up the plan for the air conditioner, and the International Criminal Court is created. Happy birthday to Phyllis Diller - with a reading of "Solit…

J. D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye" is published and happy birthday to Ida B. Wells - with a reading from her speech "Lynch Law in America."

The Rosetta Stone is discovered, the Spanish Inquisition ends, and Alzheimer's is named. Happy birthdays to Clement Clark Moore and Iris Murdoch - with a reading from Murdoch's "The Bell."

It's Bastille Day! Also, U.S. President John Adams signs the Sedition Act, another fire nearly destroys the city of Chicago, and Jane Goodall reaches the Gombe Stream Reserve to begin studying chimpa…

The birthday club includes George Weller, Marcia Brown, and Cameron Crowe - with a reading of "Miracles" by Jean Blewett.

It's Thoreau-Neruda Day! Today's episode includes a reading from Thoreau's essay, "Walking."

The Jay Treaty is signed by the UK and the U.S., America's most famous duel takes place, and Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" is published. Happy birthdays to E. B. White and Jhumpa Lahiri - with…

French King Louis XVI declares war on Great Britain, Alexander Mackenzie completes his 3,000 mile trip through the Canadian wilderness to the Pacific, and French secret agents bomb the Greenpeace shi…

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto is made public, and happy birthdays to Elias Howe and Oliver Sacks - with a reading of "Bohemia," by Dorothy Pa…

The Anti-Abolitionist Race Riot begins in New York City, the U.S. begins its first military draft - with loopholes, Hawaii and Alaska change status, and the Ziegfeld Follies begin. This is also the d…

(Sorry, I hab a hed code.) Louis Pasteur successfully tests his rabies vaccine, Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of the bus, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time. Hap…

In the American colonies, the Second Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence. It was one of the world's most challenging bits of writing. So, we look at some of the sources Thomas…