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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Posted on November 4, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of rodeo performer and humorist Will Rogers, born in Indian Territory in Oklahoma (1879). He made fun of all the leading politicians of his day.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, November 3, 2025

Posted on November 3, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of comedienne Roseanne Barr, born in Salt Lake City, Utah (1952). Her family was Jewish, but her parents supported the family by selling crucifixes door to door. When she was three, she hit her head on the dining room table, and her face became paralyzed. Her mom called a rabbi, but Roseanne wasn’t healed. So her mom called the Mormon missionaries, and Roseanne got better.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, November 2, 2025

Posted on November 2, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the frontiersman Daniel Boone, born on this day in 1734 near Reading, Pennsylvania. When he was young, his family moved to North Carolina, where Daniel loved to hunt in the forest. He educated himself by taking books with him on his hunting trips.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, November 1, 2025

Posted on November 1, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the Palestinian-American writer and literary critic Edward Said, born in 1935 in Jerusalem. He went to school at Princeton and Harvard, and spent the rest of his career teaching at Columbia. Said is most famous for his book Orientalism (1978).

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, October 31, 2025

Posted on October 31, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Martin Luther was a monk who disagreed with the Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences, which forgave the punishment for sins. Luther thought that God offered forgiveness freely without having to pay for it, and he wanted to reform the Catholic Church.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, October 30, 2025

Posted on October 30, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1938 that a radio broadcast based on a science fiction novel caused mass hysteria across New England: Orson Welles’s adaptation of War of the Worlds. The first part of the broadcast imitated news bulletins and announced that Martians had invaded New Jersey.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Posted on October 29, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the biographer James Boswell, born in 1740 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Boswell’s father was a judge who insisted that his son study law. So James Boswell passed his bar exams in Scotland, but he didn’t really like law and he didn’t really like Scotland. Boswell loved gossip, drinking, and traveling, and he wanted to be in London, in the company of the rich and famous.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Posted on October 28, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, born in 1955 in Seattle, Washington. When he was in 8th grade, the Lakeside Mothers Club had a rummage sale and used the money to buy computer equipment for the school. Gates and his friend Paul Allen got completely swept up in the excitement of this new technology.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 27, 2025

Posted on October 27, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Zadie Smith, born Sadie Smith in London in 1975. She grew up in a working-class suburb with her Jamaican mother and English father. She wanted to be a tap dancer, but she decided she wasn’t skinny enough; then she wanted to be a jazz singer, but she decided she wasn’t as good as Aretha Franklin. So she decided to be a writer.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, October 26, 2025

Posted on October 26, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Hillary Clinton, born Hillary Rodham in Chicago (1947), the daughter of a man who sold draperies and was so frugal that even on the coldest winter nights in Illinois, he would turn the heat in the house off, and then wake up early in the morning to warm the house back up before everyone else arose.

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