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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, July 18, 2025

Posted on July 18, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Rolihlahla “Nelson” Mandela, born in Mvezo, South Africa (1918). He was the first member of his family to attend school, and that’s where his British teachers gave him a new name: Nelson. Since childhood, Mandela had heard stories of his ancestors’ courage.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, July 17, 2025

Posted on July 17, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of fiction writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon, who wrote under S.Y. Agnon, born in Galicia in what is now Ukraine (1888). He spoke Yiddish at home, and read Hebrew and German.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Posted on July 16, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of religious leader and writer Mary Baker Eddy, born in Bow, New Hampshire (1821). As a child, she suffered from a spinal ailment and spent much of her life preoccupied by issues of health. She entered a sanitarium in 1862, where she met Phineas P. Quimby, a man who believed in a “science of health” achieved by direct mental healing that had religious overtones. Baker was seemingly cured, but her suffering recurred after Quimby’s death.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Posted on July 15, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today marks the kickoff of the Hemingway Days festival in the Florida Keys. Ernest Hemingway first visited the Keys on his way home from Paris. He fell in love with the little island of Key West, and he spent much of the 1930s there, first renting a place and then buying a house with the help of his in-laws.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, July 14, 2025

Posted on July 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Woodrow Wilson — aka “Woody” — Guthrie, born in Okemah, Oklahoma (1912). Woody Guthrie never finished high school, but he spent his spare time reading books at the local public library. He took occasional jobs as a sign painter and started playing music on a guitar he found in the street.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, July 13, 2025

Posted on July 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1863 that the New York City Draft Riots began, the bloodiest riot in American history. The rioters were working-class white men, mostly Irish-Americans. They were rioting against a new draft law put into place by President Lincoln, but they were angry about much more than that, and the draft law was just the final straw.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, July 12, 2025

Posted on July 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of (Gaius) Julius Caesar, born in Rome around 100 B.C. He was the great military leader who managed to capture for the Roman Empire most of what became France and Great Britain.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, July 11, 2025

Posted on July 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

To Kill a Mockingbird was published on this date in 1960. Nelle Harper Lee started writing anecdotes about life in the South after she moved to New York City in 1949, but they just weren’t coming together. The work she produced was good enough to land her an agent, who encouraged her, but in 1957 she became so frustrated that she threw her manuscript out the window of her apartment.

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.

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