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The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, October 16, 2025

Posted on October 16, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the often-quoted Irish writer Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin in 1854. He said, “I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” And he said, “The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Posted on October 15, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the novelist Mario Puzo, born in New York City in 1920. He was the son of Italian immigrants. He wrote two novels that sold almost no copies, and he was in serious debt. Then one Christmas Eve, he had a severe gall bladder attack, and he was in so much pain that he fell into the gutter. As he was lying there, he said to himself, “Here I am, a published writer, and I am dying like a dog.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Posted on October 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, born in Denison, Texas, in 1890. His mother was a pacifist, and when he decided to go to West Point for college, she broke down in tears. He loved being in the military and training troops.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, October 13, 2025

Posted on October 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of singer and songwriter Paul Simon, born in Newark, New Jersey, (1941). In 1964, he and his friend Art Garfunkel recorded a folk album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. It was a flop, and Paul Simon moved back in with his parents.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, October 12, 2025

Posted on October 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the novelist Richard Price, born in the Bronx in New York in 1949. He published his first novel when he was 24, a novel called The Wanderers (1974), about a group of teenagers growing up in housing projects in the Bronx. His most recent novel, Lush Life, came out this year (2008).

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, October 11, 2025

Posted on October 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt, born in New York City in 1884. She was shy and awkward as a girl; her mother, a beautiful socialite, was disappointed in her daughter. Both Eleanor’s parents died by the time she was a teenager. Then she met a distant cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and they got married.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, October 10, 2025

Posted on October 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1971 that the London Bridge was dedicated in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The city of London realized that the bridge wasn’t strong enough for all the traffic that crossed it every day, and that it was sinking slowly into the Thames River. They needed a more modern bridge, so they put the London Bridge up for sale. The entire bridge was dismantled, each stone was numbered, and then it was shipped to Arizona, where it took three years to put back together.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, October 9, 2025

Posted on October 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the English singer and songwriter John Lennon, born in Liverpool, England, in 1940. He was an only child, raised by his aunt and uncle, but his mother lived nearby, and she encouraged him to play the banjo, and later the guitar.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Posted on October 8, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the science fiction writer Frank Herbert, born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1920. He was a photographer during WWII. He went to the University of Washington, but he didn’t graduate because he only wanted to study what interested him, so he refused to take the required courses for a major.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Posted on October 7, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the novelist and critic Elizabeth Janeway, born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1913. She was in college when she started writing a novel, but she didn’t finish it until many years later, while she was raising her first child and pregnant with her second one. The novel was called The Walsh Girls (1943).

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