The Story of Writing

John Cabot lands in the New World, Spain and France try but fail to take the Rock of Gibraltar, and happy birthday to Ambrose Bierce - with a reading from "Clear Light of Day," by Anita Desai.

The "Type-Writer" is patented, Canada makes its National Park System, the Antarctic Treaty is signed, Title IX is strengthened to make schools and educational programs more equal for women and men, and U.S. President Richard Nixon is caught on tape talking about obstruction of justice. Happy birthday to June Carter Cash - with a reading of Sara Teasdale's "The Crystal Gazer.&quo...

Galileo is tried for heliocentrism, the U.S. creates its Department of Justice, Nazi Germany forces France to sign an armistice, and the U.S. initiates its G. I. Bill. Today's reading is from Frederick Douglass' "Reconstruction."

Marie-Joseph Angelique is condemned to death for burning most of Old Montreal, Empress Cixi declares war on western powers, and in 1964, this was the last day Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner were seen alive. It is the birthday of Jean-Paul Sartre - with a reading from Sartre's "Being and Nothingness."

The telegraph and the telephone exchange come into being, the Detroit Race Riot, and happy birthday to Lillian Hellman - with a reading from her memoir, "Pentimento."

The first, official game of baseball is played, enslaved people in Texas were finally told they were free - creating Juneteenth, and President John F. Kennedy submits his Civil Rights Act to Congress. Today's reading is from President Kennedy's Special Message to Congress on Civil Rights.

Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo, Charles Darwin learns that another naturalist had developed a theory of evolution that was nearly identical to his own, and Winston Churchill delivers his speech titled, "Their Finest Hour." Happy birthday to Paul McCartney and Roger Ebert. And a reading from Churchill's speech "Their Finest Hour."

Sir Francis Drake claims "New Albion," which we now call Northern California, and American colonists lost the Battle of Bunker Hill - but they learned that they could defeat the British. The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor and Republican operatives break into the Watergate Hotel. Juneteenth National Independence Day is created - with a reading from the Senator who proposed t...

Abraham Lincoln delivers his speech "A House Divided" and it is Bloomsday. Happy birthday to Joyce Carol Oates - with a reading from her novel "Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang."

King John of England agrees to the Magna Carta, Benjamin Franklin publishes his thoughts on proving that lightning is electricity, and Arlington National Cemetery is established. Today's reading is an excerpt from the poem "Because of this Modest Style," written by Ramon Lopez Velarde.

Happy Flag Day (in the U.S.), Charles Babbage presents his "difference engine," and it's the anniversary of the "Bear Flag Revolt." Happy birthday to Harriet Beecher Stowe - with a reading from her landmark novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

The birthday club includes George Weller, Marcia Brown, and Cameron Crowe. Today's reading is the poem "Miracles," written by Jean Blewett.

Virginia adopts the Declaration of Rights written by George Mason, Anne Frank is given a blank diary, and the U.S. Supreme Court rules interracial couples can marry. Happy birthday to Rona Jaffe - with a reading from her book "The Best of Everything."

A day of civil rights in 1963: Thích Quảng Đức set himself on fire in Saigon to protest a ban on Buddhist religious practice, Alabama Governor George Wallace stood in the doorway of the state university to prevent Black people from attending, President John F. Kennedy promises civil rights protections, and Medgar Evers is assassinated. Today's reading is from "Medgar Evers: A Hero in Life...

Bridget Bishop becomes the first person to be executed in the Salem Witch Trials and the group Alcoholics Anonymous is founded. Happy birthdays to Howlin' Wolf and Saul Bellow - with a reading from Bellow's "Herzog."

China and France sign the Treaty of Tientsin, and the birthday club includes Cole Porter, Robert McNamara, and Jackie Wilson - with a reading from Porter's "Let's Fall In Love."

James Madison proposes 12 Constitutional amendments, Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquity Act into law, and George Orwell's novel "1984" is published - with a reading from "1984."

Spain and Portugal carve up the wholly inaccurate map of the new world, England drafts the Petition of Right, and an American colonist proposes becoming an independent nation. Happy birthdays to Gwendolyn Brooks and Louise Erdrich - with a reading from Brooks' "Maud Martha."

The first, patented drive-in theater opens, and it's an important day for the WWII battle of Midway and the invasion of D-Day. The birthday club includes Alexander Pushkin, Angelo Moriondo, and Thomas Mann - with a reading from Mann's "Death in Venice."

"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated, and "Tank Man" stops a tank column in Beijing. And happy birthday to Federico Garcia Lorca - with a reading of "Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint."

The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment, the U.S. denies refuge to Jewish Germans fleeing the Nazis, the British evacuate their own troops from Dunkirk, and California legalizes labor unions for farm workers. It's the birthday of King George III - with a reading from Winston Churchill's speech titled, "We Will Fight on the Beaches."

Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain and the Dutch Parliament creates the West India Company. The birthday club includes Memphis Minnie, Allen Ginsberg, and Curtis Mayfield - with a reading from Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove."

The Pope bans enslaving native Americans, the second (and even more infuriating) version of the Quartering Act is passed, and indigenous people in the U.S. are granted citizenship. The birthday club includes Thomas Hardy, Dorothy West, and Norton Juster - with a reading from West's "Fond Memories of a Black Childhood."

Scotch Whisky first appears in print, Charles Baudelaire's "Les fleur du mal" is published, and Margaret Chase Smith delivers her speech "The Declaration of Conscience." The birthday club includes Charles Kay Ogden and Colleen McCullough - with a reading from Baudelaire's "Flower's of Evil."

The birthday club includes Walt Whitman, Fred Allen, Al Young, and Svetlana Alexievich - with a reading from Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric."