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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 7, 2026

Posted on May 7, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of German composer Johannes Brahms, born in Hamburg in 1833. He began studying the piano at the age of seven, and he picked it up quickly.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Posted on May 6, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Sigmund Freud, born in Freiburg, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic), in 1856. He’s usually associated with Vienna, where he lived from the age of four until the Germans occupied it in 1938.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Posted on May 5, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of journalist Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania (1864). When she was 16, her family moved to Pittsburgh, where she read an editorial in The Pittsburgh Dispatch titled “What Girls Are Good For.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 4, 2026

Posted on May 4, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Horace Mann, born in Franklin, Massachusetts (1796). He was the first great American advocate of public education. He believed that, in a democratic society, education should be free and universal.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 3, 2026

Posted on May 3, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet, novelist, and memoirist May Sarton, born Eleanor Marie Sarton in Wondelgem, Belgium, in 1912. Her father was a science historian, and her mother was an artist.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 2, 2026

Posted on May 2, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Dr. Benjamin Spock, born in New Haven, Connecticut (1903). He wrote The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946). It began, “You know more than you think you do.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 1, 2026

Posted on May 1, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

All 102 stories of The Empire State Building opened to the public on this date in 1931, 45 days ahead of schedule and $5 million under budget, on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York City.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 30, 2026

Posted on April 30, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was first published in serial form on this date in 1859. It appeared in the first issue of a new weekly journal, All the Year Round, which Dickens founded himself.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Posted on April 29, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the man who once said, “Jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with”: bandleader, pianist, and composer Edward Kennedy — better known as Duke Ellington, born in Washington, D.C., in 1899.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Posted on April 28, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of poet Carolyn Forché, born in Detroit in 1950. A human rights activist as well as a poet, she’s committed to what she calls “the poetry of witness,” and this has opened her up to criticism, especially in the United States.

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