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John Michael Crichton was born at Chicago, Illinois on this day in 1942. He started writing early with a travel column in the New York Times at fourteen. He pursued a degree in literature at Harvard but disagreed with faculty and switched to anthropology, graduating in 1964. He earned his … Continue reading →

You have to see this to believe it, very impressive! [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWGU3mpfRoM]  

On 19 October 1605, Sir Thomas Browne was born in London (coincidentally, he died on his 77th birthday on 19 October 1682). Trained as a physician, he was drawn to writing as much as he was to medicine. While he wrote a number of books, he is best known for … Continue reading →

Noah Webster was born at West Hartford, Connecticut on this day in 1758. He studied at Yale during the Revolution, but was unable to afford to go on to law school so he became a teacher. In 1783 he began a three-volume set of books for teaching English, the first … Continue reading →

Edward Estlin Cummings was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts on this day in 1894. Growing up in a literate and liberal home, he was writing poetry by age ten. He attended Cambridge Latin High School and received both BA and MA from Harvard. His poetry appeared in publications of both schools. … Continue reading →

By order of the Canadian Parliament in 1957, today is “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the second Monday in October.” The first thanksgiving observation in English-speaking North America actually took place in … Continue reading →

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born at Porbandar, Kathiawad, India on this day in 1869. From his early career in law to his assassination while preparing to pray in 1948 the Mahatma (Sanskrit for “great soul”) preached nonviolence, and to the surprise and consternation of the South African and colonial Indian … Continue reading →

Something extraordinary happened at Mainz, Germany on this day in 1452. A goldsmith turned printer by the name of Johann Gutenberg started a print job. It was a big job, and took over two years to complete: The first verifiable book printed with moveable type. There are 24 letters in … Continue reading →

William Safire was born at New York City on 17 December 1929 and died from pancreatic cancer last Sunday. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science, then attended Syracuse University for two years. Despite dropping out, he delivered the commencement address there in 1978 and 1990 and became a … Continue reading →