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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 14, 2025

Posted on April 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1912 the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on its way from Southampton, England, to New York City. The ship, on its maiden voyage and carrying more than 2,000 people, was designed with watertight compartments to withstand a head-on or side-impact collision.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 13, 2025

Posted on April 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the man who invented the game Scrabble. Alfred M. Butts was born in Poughkeepsie, New York (1899). He was an architect, but during the Depression he was out of a job and decided he’d invent an adult game. He classified games into three groups — chance, skill, and a combination of both — and decided that the last was the most promising.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 12, 2025

Posted on April 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Gustave Flaubert’s first novel Madame Bovary was published on this day in 1857. The book was almost an instant sensation, in part because of Flaubert’s new painstaking style of Realism, but also due to the sensational trial the book had already starred in. First serialized in a magazine, Madame Bovary — about a woman who has multiple affairs to stave off the boredom of her empty existence — had caught the attention of the law, who charged Flaubert, the magazine’s editor, and the printer with corrupting public morals. They were all acquitted, but the publicity from the trial guaranteed that readers would flock to the book.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, April 11, 2025

Posted on April 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of a noblewoman whom the scholar Samuel Putnam called “the first modern woman”: Marguerite de Navarre, born in Angoulême, France (1492). Her mother, Louise, was extremely well-educated, and when Marguerite’s father died a few years after her birth, Louise became the head of the household. She taught her children herself or hired the best tutors for them. Marguerite spoke at least five languages and studied literature.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, April 10, 2025

Posted on April 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1925 that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was published. Fitzgerald believed he had written a great book, and he was disappointed by its reception. He wrote to his friend Edmund Wilson: “Of all the reviews, even the most enthusiastic, not one had the slightest idea what the book was about.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Posted on April 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War. They met at a private residence in Appomattox Court House, Virginia. General Grant was reported to have begun the conversation by saying: “I met you once before, General Lee, while we were serving in Mexico … I have always remembered your appearance, and I think I should have recognized you anywhere.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, April 8, 2025

Posted on April 8, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Barbara Kingsolver, born in Annapolis, Maryland (1955). She started writing fiction when she was pregnant and had horrible insomnia. She wrote every night, but she didn’t want to disturb her husband, so she worked on her novel in a closet. It was the story of a young woman who decides she needs to get out of her small town in Kentucky, and drives across the country to Arizona.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, April 7, 2025

Posted on April 7, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of jazz singer Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1915). She was never professionally trained, but by the time she was 18, she had spent more time performing in clubs than performers twice her age. When she recorded with Benny Goodman, her career took off, and she went on to work with Artie Shaw and Lester Young, who gave her the nickname “Lady Day.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, April 6, 2025

Posted on April 6, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of country songwriter and singer Merle Haggard, born in Bakersfield, California (1937). The first song he wrote was “Branded Man,” about the life of an ex-con. He was still on parole when he wrote it.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, April 5, 2025

Posted on April 5, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Thomas Hobbes, born in Westport, Wiltshire, England (1588) who witnessed a chaotic time in English politics, with two civil wars and the execution of the king. He wrote his most famous book, Leviathan, in the midst of it, in which he argues that people need a strong central authority to keep them from collapsing into war.

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