The Story of Writing

Salem stops its witch trials, the first asylum in the US for the mentally ill opens, Desmond Doss becomes the only conscientious objector awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor, a televised debate over same-sex marriage leads to thousands of people leaving their faith in Finland, and Kamini Roy is born on this day - with a reading from her poem "In the Light."

San Francisco school officials bow to pressure to exclude Japanese-American students, the AIDS Memorial Quilt is displayed for the first time, and, born on this day, Elmore Leonard and Thich Nhat Hanh - with a reading from Leonard's "10 Rules on Writing."

U.S. VP Spiro Agnew resigns, and born on this day Louise Mack, Harold Pinter, Lily Tuck, and John Prine - with a reading from Louise Mack's "A Woman's Experiences in the Great War: An Australian Author's Clandestine Journey Through War-Torn Belgium."

Roger Williams is banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony, France abolishes the death penalty, "The Phantom of the Opera" opens in London, the Taliban tries to assassinate Malala Yousafzai, and John Lennon was born on this day - with a reading from Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence."

The first hospital in North America opens, German magazine "Der Spiegel" is accused of treason, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, "Cats" opens on Broadway, and R. L. Stine is born on this day - with a reading from Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago."

England's King George III unwittingly helps indigenous people in North America, the McCullom Memo is issued and raises questions over provoking Japan to attack the U.S. Born on this day: Ann Eliza Smith, James Whitcomb Riley, and Michelle Alexander - with a reading from Alexander's "The New Jim Crow."

Fannie Lou Hamer, the "First Lady of Civil Rights"

"Dr. No" and "Love Me Do" debut, PBS launches, and featured writers, born on this day, Louise Fitzhugh and Neil deGrasse Tyson - with a reading from Fitzhugh's "Harriet the Spy."

Norman Rockwell introduces the fictional character Willie Gillis, and featuring writers born on this day: Edward Stratemeyer, David Sobol, Jackie Collins, and Anne Rice - with a reading from Rice's "Interview with the Vampire."

Thanksgiving Day(s) in the U.S. and Thomas Wolfe and Gore Vidal were born on this day - with a reading from Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again."

Graham Greene, Chuck Williams, and Melissa Harris-Perry were born on this day. This episode includes a reading from Anna Julia Cooper's 1893 speech to the World's Congress of Representative Women in Chicago.

One of the first books on "household management" is published, Yosemite is designated as federally preserved and protected land, "in God we trust" appears on U.S. paper money, and it's Tim O'Brien's birthday - with a reading from Judy Syfers Brady's essay "I Want A Wife."

European leaders sign the Munich Agreement, the WWII atrocity at Babi Yar begins, and the birthday club includes Rumi, Truman Capote, Elie Wiesel, Laura Esquivel, and Ta-Nehisi Coates - with a reading from Wiesel's memoir "Night."

The League of Nations' mandate for Palestine goes into effect and the birthday club includes Miguel de Cervantes, Elizabeth Gaskell, Olive Dehn, and Barbara Mertz - with a reading from Cervantes' classic "Don Quixote."

Physician and microbiologist Alexander Fleming notices that Penecillium causes something odd in his laboratory and the birthday club includes musician Ben E. King and critic George W. S. Trow - with a reading from Aesop's Fable: "The Cats and the Birds."

Rachel Carson publishes "Silent Spring," one of the most important works of the 20th Century.

Albert Einstein publishes his theory of special relativity, Nazi official August Frank issues his chilling memo evaluating the goods left behind by people sent to the death camps, the first U.S. political debate is broadcast, and the Beatles release "Abbey Road." This is Jane Smiley's birthday, with a reading of her writing on bookstores.

The U.S. Congress adopts the Bill of Rights, Columbia's School of Journalism opens its doors, and the Little Rock Nine integrate their Arkansas high school. The birthday club includes William Faulkner and Shel Silverstein - with a reading from Faulkner's "Intruder in the Dust."

The leader of the Latter Day Saints says he has a vision that the church should end polygamy, a race massacre convulses Atlanta, President Theodore Roosevelt designates the country's first national monument: Devil's Tower, and Nirvana releases its landmark album "Nevermind." The birthday club includes F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jim Henson - with a reading from Fitzgerald's class...

The birthday club includes John Lomax, Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, and Ani DiFranco - with a reading from Lomax's "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads."

The executions of those accused of witchcraft end in Salem, President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, and the birthday club includes Elizabeth Simcoe, Eric Baker, and Joan Jett - with a reading from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

The birthday club includes H. G. Wells, Allen Lane, Leonard Cohen, Chuck Jones, and Stephen King - with a reading from Wells' "The Time Machine."

Ferdinand Magellan sets sail on the first circumnavigation of the world, Billie Jean King wins the Battle of the Sexes, the U.S. military ends "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and it's the birthday of Upton Sinclair - with a reading from his landmark book "The Jungle."

George Washington's farewell address, and the birthday club includes Sadie Delany, Rachel Field, and William Golding - with a reading from Washington's farewell address.

The New York Times prints its first paper, Booker T. Washington delivers the Atlanta Exposition Speech on Race Relations, and the Columbia Broadcasting Corporation goes on air - with a reading from L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables."