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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 16, 2025

Posted on May 16, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It is the birthday of writer and broadcaster Louis “Studs” Terkel, born in the Bronx, New York (1912). His family moved to Chicago when Terkel was 10 years old and his parents ran rooming houses. Terkel remembers all different kinds of people moving through the rooming houses — dissidents, labor organizers, religions fanatics — and that that exposure helped build his knowledge of the outside world.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 15, 2025

Posted on May 15, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Lyman Frank Baum, born in Chittenango, New York (1856). He moved to Aberdeen, South Dakota, when he was 32, and opened up a general store called “Baum’s Bazaar.” He was popular with the neighborhood kids, telling them stories, all the while chomping on a cigar. He was also generous with his credit and the store went bankrupt. So he got a job as an editor for the local newspaper.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Posted on May 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1796 that a British physician named Edward Jenner administered a vaccine to prevent smallpox; it was considered the first successful vaccination. Smallpox was a terrible disease, with a high mortality rate — between 20% and 60%, and much higher for children.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Posted on May 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1940 that Winston Churchill gave his first speech as prime minister to the House of Commons. Three days earlier, he had taken over the job from Neville Chamberlain, who resigned. Chamberlain was a controversial leader — he had signed the Munich Agreement in September of 1938, ceding a region of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, a decision that Churchill highly criticized at the time.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, May 12, 2025

Posted on May 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, born in London (1828). Rossetti studied art at the Royal Academy and was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of artists who rejected any art from Raphael onward. They wanted to return to the lush colors and passionate subjects of 15th-century Italian painting.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, May 11, 2025

Posted on May 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Mari Sandoz, born near Hay Springs, Nebraska (1896). Her father, a Swiss homesteader, was a harsh and bitter man, and her mother was cold and remote. Sandoz was the oldest child of six, and was constantly working around the house, but she still found moments here and there to scribble down her tales. She published her first story when she was 11 years old, and when her father found out, he beat her and locked her in the cellar, because he considered artists and writers “the maggots of society.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, May 10, 2025

Posted on May 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Fred Astaire, born Frederick Austerlitz, in Omaha, Nebraska (1899). He started dancing when he was four, and when he was six he formed an act with his sister, Adele, which became a popular vaudeville attraction on Broadway. When Adele retired in 1932, Astaire made a screen test.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, May 9, 2025

Posted on May 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of playwright Alan Bennett, born in Leeds, England (1934). He grew up in an apartment above his father’s butcher shop. He said of his life growing up in Yorkshire: “It’s partly sentimental I’m sure, but it’s also partly the way of talking. I’ve always thought this, the Yorkshire and Lancashire way of talking is inherently dramatic. I think it’s a Germanic thing but the point of a sentence is often kept till the end which is ideal for comedy writing.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, May 8, 2025

Posted on May 8, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of novelist Pat Barker, born in Thornaby-on-Tees, England (1943). She grew up poor in northern working-class England. She was born to a single mother and never knew her father (her mother wasn’t sure who he was, although for years she lied to her daughter and claimed that he had been a pilot killed in World War II).

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Posted on May 7, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1952, Geoffrey W.A. Dummer first presented the concept of the integrated circuit, also known as the microchip, which is the basis for all modern electronic equipment.

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