The Story of Writing

The last victims of the Salem Witch Trials, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln releases his preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation, the birthday club includes Elizabeth Simcoe, Eric Baker, …

Benedict Arnold betrays the American colonies, the French abolish their monarchy (for the first time), and today's birthday club includes H. G. Wells, Allen Lane, Chuck Jones, Leonard Cohen, and Step…

Ferdinand Magellan sets sail on a voyage of circumnavigation, the Battle of the Sexes on a Texas tennis court, the dismantling of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and happy birthday to Upton Sinclair - with …

President George Washington's Farewell Address, and the birthday club includes Sadie Delany, Rachel Field, and William Golding - with a reading from "Death Comes for the Archbishop," written by Willa…

Tiffany gets fancy, the New-York Daily Times, Booker T. Washington delivers the Atlanta Exposition speech on race relations, and the Columbia Broadcasting Service signs on for the first time - with a…

The signing of the U.S. Constitution, Antietam, and today's birthday club includes William Carlos Williams, John Creasey, Elizabeth Enright, Mary Stewart, and Hank Williams - with a reading from "Thi…

The signing of the Montreal Protocol, and today's birthday club features Francis Parkman, Miriam Benjamin, and H. A. Rey - with a reading from Parkman's "The Oregon Trail."

Charles Darwin lands on the Galápagos Islands, Marilyn Monroe strikes an iconic pose, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and happy birthday to Chimamanda Ngozi Adic…

Henry Hudson reaches the river that now bears his name, the Battle on the Plains of Abraham, the bombardment of Baltimore, Margaret Chase Smith and James Meredith become "firsts," the adoption of the…

Handel finishes his masterpiece, "Messiah," and today's birthday club includes William H. Armstrong, Kate Millett, Bernard MacLaverty, and Bonnie Jo Campbell - with a reading from "The Loony-Bin Trip…

John Smith is elected council president of Jamestown, Virginia, Elias Howe is granted a patent for his sewing machine, and the birthday club includes Hanna Webster Foster, Mary Oliver, and Steven Jay…

The Stono Rebellion, the Compromise of 1850, and happy birthdays to Leo Tolstoy and my dad (those are two different people) - with a reading from Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

Michelangelo unveils his sculpture "David," the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance is published - again, the Great Galveston Hurricane slams into Texas, the Van Buren sisters finish their 5,500-mile motorcycl…

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

The Mayflower sets sail, Salem is settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony, Louisa Ann Swain casts an historic vote, and the birthday club includes Isabella Leonarda, Frances Wright, Jane Addams, and Robe…

D'Artagnan comes between two of the most flamboyant figures of 17th Century France, Czar Peter I taxed nobles' facial hair, the UK declares war on China in order to move more opium from the Far East …

The founding of "the Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels," the first power plant to supply electricity to paying customers, Kodak is trademarked and the patent is issued for film on a roll, …

The Lord Protectors of the Commonwealth of England, the Treaty of Paris, Frederick Douglass escapes slavery, The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the U.S. a…

"Talk softly and carry a big stick," The Japanese Instrument of Surrender, Tibetan Democracy Day, CBS extends its weeknight news show, and a birthday club that includes: Lucretia Peabody Hale, Eugene…

For the first time, a woman became a telephone operator, the Germans invaded Poland and started World War II, and happy birthdays to Johann Pachelbel, Liz Carpenter, and Lily Tomlin - with a reading …