Today's Reading: "Minstrels and Maids" by William Morris (1834-1896).
Writer Edna O'Brien (THE COUNTRY GIRLS; HOUSE OF SPLENDID ISOLATION), whose books have sometimes been banned in Ireland for their sexual explicitness, was born in Tuamgraney, Ireland, on this day in 1930.
It's the birthday of writer Betty Smith (A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN), born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1896.
Playwright Maxwell Anderson (WHAT PRICE GLORY?) was born today in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, 1888.
Architect and furniture designer Kaare Klint, who almost single-handedly created the look of modern Scandinavian furniture design, was born on this day in Copenhagen, 1888.
Charles E. Duryea, who with his brother, Frank, invented the first car built and driven in America, was born in Canton, Illinois, in 1861.
French civil engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed the Eiffel Tower and the framework for the Statue of Liberty, was born on this day in Dijon, France, 1832.
Jane Austen's novel EMMA was published on this day in 1815.
The Bill of rights, the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, became effective today in 1791.
Today's Reading: "Mossbawn Sunlight" by Seamus Heaney from POEMS 1965-1975, published by Farrar Straus Giroux.
In Mexico, the annual eight-day celebration called Posadas begins today with groups of people going from door to door asking for "posada," or shelter, as Mary and Joseph did before the birth of Jesus.
It's the birthday of English science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, author of the short story "The Sentinel," on which the film 2001: SPACE ODYSSEY was based. He was born in Minehead, Somerset, in 1917.
It's the birthday of anthropologist Margaret Mead, born in Philadelphia in 1901.
Author V.S. Pritchett (YOU MAKE YOUR OWN LIFE; BLIND LOVE AND OTHER STORIES) was born on this day in Ipswich, England, 1900.
English playwright, actor, and composer Noel Coward (PRIVATE LIVES) was born on this day near London in 1899.
It's the birthday of Gothic revival architect Ralph Adams Cram, born in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire, 1863.
Poet and philosopher George Santayana was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1863. His most famous line about history: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
It's the birthday of author Jane Austen (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE; EMMA; PERSUASION) born in the village of Steventon, Hampshire, England, 1775.
The Boston Tea Party took place on this day in 1773.
It's the birthday of composer Ludvig van Beethoven, born in Bonn, Germany, 1770.
Today's Reading: Excerpts from "Snowbound" by John Greenleaf Whittier.
The ancient Festival of Saturnalia, the Roman celebration honoring Saturn, would begin on this day and last for one week.
In 1955 Carl Perkins wrote his big hit "Don't Step on my Blue Suede Shoes."
It's the birthday of jazz trumpeter Sy Oliver, born in Battle Creek, Michigan, 1910.
Chemist and Nobel Laureate Willard Frank Libby, who developed the "Carbon-14-Dating" process in 1946, was born on this day in Grand Valley, Colorado, 1908.
Novelist Erskine Caldwell (TOBACCO ROAD; GOD'S LITTLE ACRE) was born on this day in Coweta County, Georgia, 1903.
Orville and Wilbur Wright made aviation history in 1903 when their aircraft managed the first powered flight above the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
THE NUTCRACKER BALLET was performed for the first time on this day in Petersburg, Russia, 1892.
Writer Ford Madox Ford (THE GOOD SOLDIER) was born on this day in Merton, England, 1873.
Charles Dickens' story, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, was published on this day in 1843.
It's the birthday of poet John Greenleaf Whittier, born near Haverhill, Massachusetts, 1807.
Today's Reading: "The Fugitive" by John Calvin Rezmerski from HELD FOR QUESTIONING, published by University of Missouri Press.
It's the birthday of director Steven Spielberg (JAWS; ET; THE COLOR PURPLE; SCHLINDER'S LIST) born in Cincinnati in 1947.
It's the birthday of activist Stephen Biko, born in King William's Town, South Africa, 1946. His brutal death made him an international martyr for South African black nationalism.
Former German Chancellor Willy Brandt was born on this day in Lubeck, Germany, 1913.
Jazz pianist and bandleader Fletcher Henderson was born in Cuthbert, Georgia, 1898.
It's the birthday of baseball player Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb, born in Narrows, Georgia, 1886.
Abstract painter Paul Klee was born on this day near Bern, Switzerland, in 1879.
It's the birthday of short-story writer H.H. Munro, who used the pen name Saki. He was born in Burma in 1870 and died in World War I.
American pianist and composer Edward MacDowell ("To a Wild Rose") was born on this day in New York City, 1861.
J.J. Thomson, whose discovery of electrons revolutionized knowledge of atomic structure, was born on this day near Manchester, England, 1856.
It's the birthday of Joseph Grimaldi, considered one of the greatest clowns in history, born in London, 1778.
Today's Reading: "Big World, Little Man" by William Stafford from EVEN IN QUIET PLACES, published by Confluence Press.
THE MUSIC MAN opened on this day in 1957 at the Majestic Theatre in New York.
Detroit Tiger right-fielder, Al Kaline, was born in Baltimore on this day in 1934.
It's the birthday of the legendary French singer Edith Piaf, the "little sparrow," born in Paris in 1915.
Writer Jean Genet (THE BALCONY; THE BLACKS) was born on this day in Paris, 1910.
Shakespearean actor Ralph Richardson was born on this day in Cheltenham, England, 1902.
Constance Garnett, translator of some 70 volumes of Russian literature into English, was born on this day in Brighton, England, 1861.
It's the birthday of British naval officer and Arctic explorer, William Edward Parry, born in Bath, England, 1790.
The first of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" essays was issued on this day in 1776. It began with the famous line: "These are the times that try men's soulsΣ"
On this day in 1732, Benjamin Franklin began publishing POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC.
Today's Reading: "Personal Address" by Pat Schneider from LONG WAY HOME, published by Amherst Writers' and Artists Press.
On this day in 1985, President Reagan signed a law establishing an American Poet Laureate and Consultant in Poetry.
Writer Hortense Calisher (FALSE ENTRY; QUEENIE; AGE) was born on this day in New York City, 1911.
It's the birthday of American philosopher and author Sidney Hook, born in New York City, 1902.
Actress Irene Dunn (MY FAVORITE WIFE; LOVE AFFAIR), was born on this day in Louisville, Kentucky, 1898.
It's the birthday of Branch Rickey, who devised baseball's "farm system" for training and brought the first black players into the major leagues. He was born in Stockdale, Ohio, 1881.
On this day in 1871 Mark Twain said, comparing himself to George Washington: "I have a higher and greater standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I CAN lie but I won't."
The Irish nationalist heroine who helped found Sinn Fein, Maud Gonne, was born in Dublin on this day in 1866.
It's the birthday of "the father of colloid chemistry," Thomas Graham, born in Glasgow, Scotland, 1805.
In 1803 on this day, the Louisiana Purchase was completed, with more than a million square miles turned over to the United States by France, for a price of about $20 a square mile.
Today's Reading: "Good Thought" by William Stafford from EVEN IN QUIET PLACES, published by Confluence Press.
Winter begins today in the Northern Hemisphere with the winter solstice, at 3:07 PM EST.
Frank Capra's Christmas classic, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE starring Jimmy Stewart, opened at New York's Globe Theater in 1946.
The 44-year-old novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1940, while working on his novel THE LAST TYCOON.
Walt Disney's SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, the first full-length animated talking picture, premiered on this day in 1937, in Los Angeles.
It's the birthday of writer Edward Hoagland, born in New York City, 1932.
Novelist and playwright Heinrich Boll (GROUP PORTRAIT WITH A LADY; THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM) was born on this day in Cologne, Germany, 1917.
The first feature-length silent film was released on this day in 1913. Mack Sennett's TILLIE'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE starred Marie Dressler and Charlie Chaplin.
The first crossword puzzle was published in the NEW YORK WORLD on this day in 1913.
Baseball player Josh Gibson, known as the black Babe Ruth, was born on this day in Buena Vista, Georgia, 1911.
Samuel Slater opened the first cotton mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on this day in 1790.
It was on this day in 1620 that the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
