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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Posted on May 20, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Shakespeare’s sonnets were first published on this day in 1609, most likely without Shakespeare’s permission. The book contained 154 sonnets, all but two of which had never been published before.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Posted on May 19, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1897, Oscar Wilde was released from Reading Gaol, where he’d been sentenced to two years hard labor for “homosexual offenses.” In 1891, Wilde had been introduced to a dashing young Oxford student named Alfred Douglas.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 18, 2026

Posted on May 18, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of film producer, director, and three-time Academy Award winner Frank Capra, born in Bisacquino, Sicily (1897).

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 17, 2026

Posted on May 17, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The unanimous ruling stated that racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 16, 2026

Posted on May 16, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of writer, historian, and radio man Studs Terkel, born in New York City (1912). When he was eight, his family moved to Chicago, where they ran a rooming house, and Terkel was fascinated by all the different people who came through.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 15, 2026

Posted on May 15, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the man who wrote one of the best-known tales in America, The Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum was born in Chittenango, New York, on this day in 1856. The tale was first published in 1900.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 14, 2026

Posted on May 14, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1796 that the doctor Edward Jenner inoculated an eight-year-old boy with a vaccine for smallpox, the first safe vaccine ever developed.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Posted on May 13, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of satirist and TV host Stephen Colbert, born in Washington, D.C. (1964). The youngest of 11 kids, Colbert lost his father and two of his brothers in a plane crash when he, Colbert, was 10 years old.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Posted on May 12, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Florence Nightingale, born in Florence, Italy, to a wealthy English family (1820). Her parents didn’t have any sons, and her father gave her many of the advantages that would have gone to a son.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 11, 2026

Posted on May 11, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in the year 868 A.D. that the Diamond Sutra was printed. It is the world’s oldest book bearing a specific date of publication. The Diamond Sutra is a collection of Buddhist teachings.

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