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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, June 27, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, June 27, 2026

It’s the birthday of writer and activist Grace Lee Boggs, born in Providence, Rhode Island (1915). Her parents were immigrants from Guangdong province in China, and her father ran a Chinese restaurant in downtown Providence.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, June 26, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, June 26, 2026

On this day in 1974, the first Universal Product Code was scanned at a supermarket cash register. The first scan was made at a Marsh’s Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, which had agreed to serve as a test facility for the new technology, and the first item scanned was a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit Gum.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, June 25, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, June 25, 2026

It’s the birthday of best-selling children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle, born on this day in Syracuse, New York (1929). He has written and illustrated more than 70 books.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, June 24, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, June 24, 2026

It’s the birthday of Ambrose Bierce, born near Horse Cave Creek, Ohio (1842). He wrote essays, journalism, and satire, and he’s well known for his short stories, especially “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890) and The Devil’s Dictionary (1906).

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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, June 23, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, June 23, 2026

The typewriter was patented on this date in 1868, by Christopher Latham Sholes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sholes was a newspaperman, and he was driven to invention out of necessity: His printers went on strike.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, June 22, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, June 22, 2026

It’s the birthday of writer Peter Matthiessen, born in New York City (1927). He grew up in a wealthy family in Connecticut, where he went to boarding school before joining the Navy during WWII.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, June 21, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, June 21, 2026

Today is Father’s Day. The holiday that we celebrate on the third Sunday in June traces its roots to 1910, but the first recorded celebration of a holiday honoring fathers took place in Fairmont, West Virginia, on July 5, 1908.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, June 20, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, June 20, 2026

It’s the birthday of poet Paul Muldoon, born in Portadown, Northern Ireland (1951). He published his first book, New Weather (1973), when he was 21 years old, and he has published more than 30 collections since then.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, June 19, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, June 19, 2026

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the United States Senate on this date. It’s often viewed as the most important United States civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction.

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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, June 18, 2026

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, June 18, 2026

On this day in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, in Belgium.

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