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The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, August 16, 2026

Posted on August 16, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Mary Clarissa Agatha Miller, better known as mystery writer Agatha Christie (1890) born in Torquay, Devon, England. Christie had an unconventional childhood.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, August 15, 2026

Posted on August 15, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Permanent construction began on the Berlin Wall on this date in 1961. After World War II, Germany had been divided up by British, French, Soviet, and American occupying forces.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, August 14, 2026

Posted on August 14, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of one of the best-selling authors of all time: novelist Danielle Steel, born in New York City (1947). Growing up, she divided her time between New York and Paris, and she was raised by relatives and family employees when her parents divorced.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, August 13, 2026

Posted on August 13, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the first man ever to print a book in English, William Caxton, born in Kent, England (1422). He was a wealthy trader and merchant, and also a part-time linguist and translator.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Posted on August 12, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Echo 1, NASA’s first communications satellite, was launched on this date in 1960. Echo was inflatable: a giant Mylar balloon with a reflective aluminum coating. It was 10 stories tall and weighed only 132 pounds.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Posted on August 11, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of American writer Alex Haley born in Ithaca, New York (1921). He was a journalist and freelance writer and went to work doing interviews for Playboy magazine.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, August 10, 2026

Posted on August 10, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

President James K. Polk signed an act establishing the Smithsonian Institution on this date in 1846. James Smithson was an English scientist. He was also the illegitimate son of a nobleman and a widow who was related to the royal family.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, August 9, 2026

Posted on August 9, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1854, Henry David Thoreau published Walden; or, Life in the Woods. His friend Ralph Waldo Emerson said he saw a “tremble of great expectation” in Thoreau just before publication day.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, August 8, 2026

Posted on August 8, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the poet Sara Teasdale, born in St. Louis, Missouri (1884). She specialized in brief, rhyming, lyric poems, usually about love, in books such as Rivers to the Sea (1915) and Love Songs (1917).

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, August 7, 2026

Posted on August 7, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the Dutch dancer and spy Mata Hari, born Margaretha Zelle in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands (1876). She attended a teachers college and then married an army officer, Captain Rudolph MacLeod, in 1895.

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