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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, July 10, 2025

Posted on July 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of French theologian John Calvin, born in Noyon, Picardy (1509). He was the fourth of five sons, and was born into a family of modest means. Luckily for young Calvin, his father — who was a notary — had a good relationship with one of the local nobles. The nobleman allowed John to be educated along with his own children.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Posted on July 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Dean Koontz, born in Everett, Pennsylvania (1945). He grew up in an impoverished and violent home, and after he went away to college, he converted to Catholicism, he said, because it helped him make sense of the chaos of his childhood and to appreciate mysteries in life.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Posted on July 8, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the writer who said, “God doesn’t like crap in art.” That’s J.F. Powers, born in Jacksonville, Illinois (1917). He grew up Roman Catholic in a town of Protestants. He was religious, but, he said, “I never wanted to be a priest. Although part of it was the celibacy, it was more the matter of being on call to the public.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, July 7, 2025

Posted on July 7, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of historian David McCullough, born in Pittsburgh (1933). As a kid, he loved to wander around the city by himself, hopping on and off of the streetcars, visiting museums, and exploring. He studied literature at Yale, where he was mentored by the playwright Thornton Wilder. After graduation, McCullough headed to New York City, a place he had always dreamed about.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, July 6, 2025

Posted on July 6, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote a passionate letter to an unknown woman on this date in 1812. Beethoven had gone to the Czech resort town of Teplitz, which his physician had recommended for his health. And over the course of two days, he wrote a letter, in three installments, to a mysterious woman who has come to be known as “the Immortal Beloved.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, July 5, 2025

Posted on July 5, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1687, Isaac Newton published one of the most important books in the history of science. Its full name is Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, or “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.” It had begun as a brief tract called “On Motion,” in which Newton had discussed mathematical theories of planetary motion. Almost as soon as he’d finished writing it, he began revising and expanding it.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, July 4, 2025

Posted on July 4, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass was first published on this date in 1855. The first edition consisted of 12 poems and was published anonymously. Whitman helped set the type himself. He kept adding to the collection and, eight editions and 36 years later, the final “death-bed edition” contained almost 400 poems.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, July 3, 2025

Posted on July 3, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Franz Kafka, born in Prague (1883). He was unhappy for most of his life: terrified of his tyrannical father, plagued by a whole host of psychosomatic illnesses, and tormented by guilt and anxiety. He described himself as “peevish, miserable, silent, discontented, and sickly.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Posted on July 2, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1698, British engineer Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine. He wanted to find a way to pump water out of coal mines, and eventually he built a machine that was filled with water itself. When steam was introduced under pressure, the water level rose and created a vacuum that drew more water up through a valve below.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Posted on July 1, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of French novelist George Sand, born Lucile Aurore Dupin in Paris (1804). She was raised by her grandmother at the family’s estate in rural Berry in central France, and was sent to an English convent in Paris to be educated. Although she started out as a troublemaker, Aurore underwent a spiritual conversion and decided to become a nun.

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