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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Posted on July 7, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of historian and author David McCullough, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1933). His first love was art, but when he was an undergraduate at Yale, the faculty included Brendan Gill, John Hersey, Robert Penn Warren, and Thornton Wilder, so eventually he started to think about life as a writer.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, July 6, 2026

Posted on July 6, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

And it was on this day in 1535 that Sir Thomas More was beheaded in the Tower of London for refusing to recognize his longtime friend King Henry VIII as the head of the Church. Thomas More was a barrister, a scholar, and a writer.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, July 5, 2026

Posted on July 5, 2026 - 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.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, July 4, 2026

Posted on July 4, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of sex expert “Dr. Ruth,” Ruth Westheimer, born Karola Ruth Siegel in Frankfurt, Germany (1928) to Orthodox Jewish parents. As a girl she learned about sex early by sneaking into her father’s library to read his books.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, July 3, 2026

Posted on July 3, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

On this date in 1913, Civil War veterans retraced their own steps in a reenactment of Pickett’s Charge. Pickett’s Charge was the last Southern charge of the bloody three-day Battle of Gettysburg.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, July 2, 2026

Posted on July 2, 2026 - 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.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Posted on July 1, 2026 - 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.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Posted on June 30, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1936 that Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind was published. Mitchell was from a prominent Atlanta family — she was a fourth-generation Atlantan on her father’s side.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, June 29, 2026

Posted on June 29, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of French aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, born in Lyons in 1900. He joined the French army in 1921, and that’s where he flew his first plane.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, June 28, 2026

Posted on June 28, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley (1703). He was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, and his father was a Nonconformist — a dissenter from the Church of England.

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