March 17

 First St. Patrick’s Day parade held (1601); Golf legend Bobby Jones born (1902); Singer Nat King Cole born (1919); National Gallery of Art opens in Washington, DC (1941); Soccer great Mia Hamm born (1972).

Clive Staples Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1898 to a family of avid readers. Lewis, too, was soon immersed in literature: He started reading at just 3 years old, and by age 5, he had begun writing stories about a fantasy land populated by “dressed animals.”

Years later, a 19-year-old Lewis served in World War I with the Somerset Light Infantry. He experienced trench warfare on the front line in the Somme, the horrors of which he carried with him for the rest of his life.



Lewis first met J.R.R. Tolkien in 1926, and the two men developed a lifelong friendship. Lewis, who had become an atheist early in life, found his way back to theism and Christianity under Tolkien’s guidance. Tolkien, meanwhile, openly credited Lewis as a major source of creative encouragement: “Only from him,” wrote Tolkien, “did I ever get the idea that my ‘stuff’ could be more than a private hobby. But for his interest and unceasing eagerness for more I should never have brought The Lord of the Rings to a conclusion."

Lewis himself was a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction. The latter included books and essays of Christian apologetics in which he passionately promotes and defends Christianity. Christian themes are also highly prevalent in his works of popular fiction, which include The Screwtape Letters, The Space Trilogy, and, most famously, The Chronicles of Narnia.

March 16

World's first liquid-fueled rocket launched in Massachusetts (1926); Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar records first 100 century batting score (2012); Dow Jones sees largest single-day point drop ever at 2,997 (2020); US president James Madison born (1751); Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin born (1964); Roman emperor Tiberius dies (37 CE)

March 15

The Ides of March: Julius Caesar assassinated by Brutus (44 BCE); President Andrew Jackson born (1767); Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg born (1933); Terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, kills 51 (2019).

March 14

Eli Whitney patents cotton gin (1794); Albert Einstein born (1879); Stephen Curry born (1988); Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles born (1997); Stephen Hawking dies (2018).

March 13

Uranus discovered (1781); President Benjamin Harrison dies (1901); Susan B. Anthony dies (1906); Tennis star Coco Gauff born (2004); Pope Francis' papacy begins (2013).

March 12

Writer and author Jack Kerouac born (1922); Mahatma Gandhi begins 200-mile protest march against British salt tax (1930); Actress and singer Liza Minnelli born (1946); Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker dies (1955).

March 11

Civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy born (1926); Sir Alexander Fleming, scientist who discovered penicillin, dies (1955); Janet Reno confirmed as first female attorney general in the US (1993); Coordinated bombings kill 191 people aboard trains in Madrid (2004); COVID-19 declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (2020).

March 10

Courrières mining accident kills 1,099 in France (1906); Harriet Tubman dies (1913); Sharon Stone born (1958); Dot-com bubble peaks as the Nasdaq hits 5,048 (2000); Ethiopian Airlines flight crashes, killing 157 (2019).

March 9

Italian soccer club Inter Milan founded (1908); Barbie doll debuts at American International Toy Fair (1959); Space Shuttle 'Discovery' makes final of 39 flights (2011); Italian cartographer and namesake of the Americas, Amerigo Vespucci, born (1451); US Olympic gold-winning gymnast Sunisa Lee born (2003)

March 8

First stock car race held in Daytona Beach (1936); International Women's Day becomes official United Nations holiday (1977); Baseball player Joe DiMaggio dies (1999); Sam Simon, director and codeveloper of "The Simpsons," dies (2015).

March 7

Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone (1876); Actor Bryan Cranston born (1956); Bloody Sunday as 600 civil rights protesters attacked by police in Selma, Alabama (1965); American poet Amanda Gorman born (1998); Director Stanley Kubrick dies (1999).

March 6

Michelangelo born (1475); Davy Crockett and 186 others are killed at the Battle of the Alamo (1836); Aspirin is patented (1899); Shaquille O’Neal born (1972); Artist Georgia O’Keeffe dies (1986).

Seneca

Lucius Annaeus Seneca, (better known as Seneca the Younger) was a well respected philosopher, statesman, and playwright. Born in Cordoba, Spain and raised in Rome, Seneca went on to become one of the most influential figures of the Stoic school of philosophy.Seneca’s philosophy encourages people to examine their inner selves and to live in more harmony with nature.

March 5

Five American colonists shot by British troops in Boston Massacre (1770); Josef Stalin dies (1953); Singer Patsy Cline dies (1963); Actress Eva Mendes born (1974); Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez dies (2013).

March 4

Antonio Vivaldi, violinist and composer, born (1678); Jeannette Rankin becomes first female member of US House of Representatives (1917); Frances Perkins becomes secretary of labor, first female member of US Cabinet (1933); Actor and comedian John Candy dies (1994); Actor Luke Perry dies (2019).

March 1

Articles of Confederation are ratified, go into effect in the US (1781); Writer Ralph Ellison born (1914); Harry Belafonte born (1927); The Peace Corps is established (1961); Actress Lupita Nyong'o born (1983); Justin Bieber born (1994).

March 2

Manhattan's Martha Washington Hotel opens, first exclusively for women (1903); Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA single-game scoring record at 100 (1962); James Bond actor Daniel Craig born (1968); English novelist of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' DH Lawrence dies (1930)

March 3

Inventor Alexander Graham Bell born (1847); "The Star-Spangled Banner" becomes the US national anthem (1931); Track and field great Jackie Joyner-Kersee born (1962); Turkish Airlines flight crashes outside Paris, killing all 346 aboard (1974); Sir Roger Bannister, first person to run a sub-four-minute mile, dies (2018).

February 28

Coaching legend Dean Smith born (1931); Record 106 million people watch series finale of "M*A*S*H" (1983); Persian Gulf War ends (1991); Basketball star Luka Dončić born (1999); Actress Jane Russell dies (2011).

W. Clement Stone

W. Clement Stone was an entrepreneur, writer and motivational speaker, who believed in the power of positive thinking and taking action to achieve one’s goals.Born in 1902, W. Clement Stone grew up in an underprivileged family, facing numerous hardships. However, he was determined to overcome these challenges and build a successful life for himself.

With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, W. Clement Stone went on to co-found The Combined Insurance Company of America, which became one of the largest insurance companies in the United States.W. Clement Stone’s philosophy centered around the idea that our thoughts and actions shape our reality, and by harnessing the power of positive thinking, we can overcome obstacles and create a life of abundance and fulfillment.

February 27

Author John Steinbeck born (1902); Actress Elizabeth Taylor born (1932); Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Ivan Pavlov dies (1936); 22nd Amendment is ratified, limiting US presidents to only being elected to two terms (1951); Mister Rogers dies (2003).

February 26

Fashion designer Levi Strauss born (1829); Grand Canyon National Park established (1919); Musician Johnny Cash born (1932); Musician Erykah Badu born (1971); World Trade Center bombing kills six, injures more than 1,000 (1993).

February 25

Hiram Revels becomes first African American in US Congress (1870); Beatles guitarist George Harrison born (1943); Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeats Sonny Liston to win his first world heavyweight title (1964); Actress Téa Leoni born (1966); Playwright and poet Tennessee Williams dies (1983).

February 24

Marbury v. Madison establishes principle of judicial review in the US (1803); Nike cofounder Phil Knight born (1938); Steve Jobs born (1955); "Hidden Figures" NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson dies (2020); Russia begins full-scale invasion of Ukraine (2022).

February 23

Physicist Werner Heisenberg describes uncertainty principle (1927); Iconic flag-raising photo taken on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi (1945); Historian WEB Du Bois born (1868); Actress Emily Blunt born (1983); Flaco, Eurasian eagle-owl, dies in Lower Manhattan nine months after escaping from Central Park Zoo (2024)

February 22

President George Washington born (1732); Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin born (1962); Drew Barrymore born (1975); "Miracle on Ice" as the US defeats the Soviet Union in hockey at Winter Olympics (1980); Andy Warhol dies (1987).

February 21

 "The Communist Manifesto" published by Karl Marx (1848); Musician Nina Simone born (1933); NASCAR founded (1948); Malcolm X assassinated (1965); Rev. Billy Graham dies (2018).

February 20

Frederick Douglass dies (1895); Sidney Poitier born (1927); John Glenn becomes first American to orbit Earth (1962); Kurt Cobain born (1967); Rihanna born (1988); Olivia Rodrigo born (2003).

February 19

Thomas Edison awarded patent for the phonograph (1878); Musician Smokey Robinson born (1940); Battle of Iwo Jima begins (1945); Actress Millie Bobby Brown born (2004); “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee dies (2016).

February 18

Artist Michelangelo died (1564); “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” published in the US (1885); Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto (1930); Novelist Toni Morrison born (1931); Auto racing legend Dale Earnhardt killed in crash at Daytona 500 (2001).

February 17

Football player and actor Jim Brown born (1936); Vanguard 2 launched as first weather satellite (1959); Michael Jordan born (1963); Volkswagen Beetle passes Ford Model T to become world’s bestselling car (1972); Golf great Mickey Wright dies (2020).

February 16

Fidel Castro assumes power in Cuba (1959); First 911 emergency line goes into operation in Haleyville, Alabama (1968); Hezbollah is founded (1985); "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton born (1957); Singer The Weeknd born (1990); Russian activist Alexei Navalny dies in prison (2024)

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both accolade and controversy.Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially – he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon introduced and adopted the Tramp as his screen persona. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to Essanay Studios, where the Tramp persona was developed emotionally in The Tramp (1915). He then attracted a large fanbase and demanded more money as he moved to Mutual and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the world's best-paid and best-known figures.In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length film was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He initially refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue. His first sound film was The Great Dictator (1940), which satirised Adolf Hitler. The 1940s were marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, and some members of the press and public were scandalised by his involvement in a paternity suit and marriages to much younger women. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the U.S. in 1952 and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. He received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century" in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films.

February 15

Astronomer Galileo Galilei born (1564); Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony born (1820); Musician Nat King Cole dies (1965); Soviet-Afghan War ends as all Soviet troops depart Afghanistan (1989); Actress Raquel Welch dies (2023). 

February 14

Saint Valentine dies (269); Abolitionist Frederick Douglass born (1818); Pale Blue Dot photo taken by Voyager 1 (1990); Dolly the sheep dies; was first cloned mammal (2003); Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting; 17 killed and 17 injured (2018).

February 13

Chuck Yeager, first pilot to break sound barrier, born (1923); Talk show host and politician Jerry Springer born (1944); Nashville sit-ins begin (1960); French opera singer Lily Pons dies (1976).

February 12

President Abraham Lincoln born (1809); Biologist Charles Darwin born (1809); Children’s author Judy Blume born (1938); President Bill Clinton acquitted on impeachment charges (1999); “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz dies (2000).

February 11

Inventor Thomas Edison born (1847); Jennifer Aniston born (1969); Iranian Revolution begins as Ayatollah Khomeini comes to power (1979); Nelson Mandela released from prison after 27 years in South Africa (1990)

February 10

French and Indian War ends (1763); “Roots” author Alex Haley dies (1992); American playwright Arthur Miller dies (2005); Hollywood legend and diplomat Shirley Temple dies (2014).

February 9

Volleyball is invented, initially known as mintonette (1895); World's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7 Semyorka, becomes operational (1959); NFL star Saquon Barkley born (1997); "Crime and Punishment" author Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies (1881)

February 8

Author Jules Verne born (1828); Boy Scouts of America is founded (1910); Hollywood legend Lana Turner born (1921); Actor James Dean born (1931); Nasdaq Stock Market index opens (1971).

February 7

Charles Dickens born (1812); The US bans all Cuban imports and exports (1962); Garth Brooks born (1962); "Beatlemania" arrives in America (1964); Author and pilot Anne Morrow Lindbergh dies (2001).

February 6

Babe Ruth born (1895); Former President Ronald Reagan born (1911); Bob Marley born (1945); King George VI dies, Elizabeth II becomes queen (1952); Singer Rick Astley born (1966); Tennis legend and activist Arthur Ashe dies (1993).

February 5

Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, arrives in Boston (1631); Baseball legend Hank Aaron born (1934); English actress Charlotte Rampling born (1946); Medgar Evers’ murderer convicted after 30 years (1994); President Donald Trump acquitted in his first impeachment trial (2020). 

February 4

George Washington elected first president of the US (1789); Aviation innovator Charles Lindbergh born (1902); Rosa Parks born (1913); Facebook is founded (2004); Actor and playwright Ossie Davis dies (2005). 

February 1

Last frost fair on frozen River Thames held (1814); First Groundhog Day observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (1887); NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens (1913); James Joyce's "Ulysses" published (1922); Actor Paul Mescal born (1996); Actor Carl Weathers dies (2024).

February 2

Last frost fair on frozen River Thames held (1814); First Groundhog Day observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (1887); NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens (1913); James Joyce's "Ulysses" published (1922); Actor Paul Mescal born (1996); Actor Carl Weathers dies (2024).

February 3

Printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg dies (1468); American novelist Gertrude Stein born (1874); Musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper killed in plane crash (1959); Luna 9 becomes first spacecraft to make soft landing on the moon (1966).

January 31

Guy Fawkes is executed (1606); 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, passes in Congress (1865); Jackie Robinson born (1919); Actress Kerry Washington born (1977); Justin Timberlake born (1981).

January 30

American flag maker Betsy Ross dies (1836); Franklin D. Roosevelt born (1882); Mahatma Gandhi assassinated (1948); The Beatles give their last public performance (1969); 14 killed on Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland (1972).

January 27

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born (1756); British author Lewis Carroll born (1832); Auschwitz concentration camp liberated (1945); Paris Peace Accords brings end to Vietnam War (1973); Andre the Giant dies (1993); American author JD Salinger dies (2010).

January 28

Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” published (1813); Painter Jackson Pollock born (1912); Modern US Coast Guard is founded (1915); Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board (1986); Actress Cicely Tyson dies (2021).

January 29

President William McKinley born (1843); Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" first published (1845); Baseball Hall of Fame announces first inductees (1936); Oprah Winfrey born (1954); Robert Frost dies (1963).

January 25

First Winter Olympics take place in Chamonix, France (1924); Battle of the Bulge comes to an end (1945); Al Capone dies (1947); Alicia Keys born (1981); Mary Tyler Moore dies (2017).

January 24

First Boy Scout troop is organized (1908); Actress Sharon Tate born (1943); Winston Churchill dies (1965); Thurgood Marshall dies (1993); Department of Homeland Security opens (2003).

January 23

American statesman John Hancock born (1737); The US and Vietnam reach peace settlement (1973); Athlete, artist, and activist Paul Robeson dies (1976); Salvador Dalí dies (1989); Madeleine Albright becomes first US female secretary of state (1997).

January 21

Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793); Fashion designer Christian Dior born (1905); Golf great Jack Nicklaus born (1940); Founding father of American cinema Cecil B. DeMille dies (1959); Women’s March sees large-scale protests in more than 160 countries (2017).

January 22

English polymath Francis Bacon born (1561); President Lyndon B. Johnson dies (1973); Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision (1973); Caitlin Clark born (2002); Hank Aaron dies (2021). 

January 21

Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine (1793); Fashion designer Christian Dior born (1905); Golf great Jack Nicklaus born (1940); Founding father of American cinema Cecil B. DeMille dies (1959); Women’s March sees large-scale protests in more than 160 countries (2017).

January 20

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin born (1930); Iran hostage crisis ends as 52 Americans are released after 444 days (1981); Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed for first time (1986); Actress Audrey Hepburn dies (1993); Barack Obama becomes first Black president of the US (2009).

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY

"On the third Monday in January, Martin Luther King Jr Day honors the American clergyman, activist, Civil Rights Movement leader."

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/martin-luther-king-jr-day-third-monday-in-january?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12260427&hashed_email=6c23328441e0f46865e8039a24ce7ccf8880f2d7&email=yeremiah%40aol.com

January 18

President John Tyler dies (1862); Actor Cary Grant born (1904); WWI Paris Peace Conference begins (1919); Author Rudyard Kipling dies (1936); Willie O’Ree becomes first Black player in the National Hockey League (1958).

January 17

Benjamin Franklin born (1706); Actress Betty White born (1922); Muhammad Ali born (1942); UN Security Council holds its first meeting (1946); Former first lady Michelle Obama born (1964).

NATIONAL CLASSY DAY

"On National Classy Day, we celebrate those who are graced with the ability to live their lives with class, passion, and who are driven to share it with others."

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-classy-day-january-17?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12250276&hashed_email=6c23328441e0f46865e8039a24ce7ccf8880f2d7&email=yeremiah%40aol.com

January 16

Hiram Revels, first African American to serve in Congress, dies (1901); 18th Amendment ratified, banning alcohol in the US (1919); R&B and pop singer Aaliyah born (1979); "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda born (1980); Operation Desert Storm of the Persian Gulf War begins (1991).

January 15

Coca-Cola Co. is incorporated (1889); Martin Luther King Jr. born (1929); First Super Bowl is played (1967); Wikipedia is launched (2001); Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan dies (2018).

January 14

Astronomer Edmond Halley dies (1742); “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll dies (1898); Actress Faye Dunaway born (1941); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first president to travel on official business by airplane while in office (1943); NBC’s “Today” debuts (1952).

January 13

Author James Joyce dies (1941); Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus born (1961); Douglas Wilder becomes first elected Black US governor (1990); 32 die as cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off coast of Italy (2012).

STEPHEN FOSTER MEMORIAL DAY

"Stephen Foster Memorial Day on January 13th commemorates the music of the man who composed hundreds of America's first popular songs."https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/stephen-foster-memorial-day-january-13?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=12236840&hashed_email=6c23328441e0f46865e8039a24ce7ccf8880f2d7&email=yeremiah%40aol.com

January 11

Alexander Hamilton born (1755 or 1757); Grand Canyon becomes a national monument (1908); First use of insulin to treat diabetes in humans (1922); Mary J. Blige born (1971); Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first two people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, dies (2008).

January 10

UN General Assembly gathers for first time (1946); Boxer George Foreman born (1949); The US and Holy See establish diplomatic relations (1984); David Bowie dies (2016).

January 9

"Common Sense" published by Thomas Paine (1776); President Richard Nixon born (1913); Activist and singer-songwriter Joan Baez born (1941); Catherine, Princess of Wales born (1982); iPhone makes its debut (2007).

January 8

George Washington delivers first State of the Union address (1790); Elvis Presley born (1935); Fashion designer Carolina Herrera born (1939); Stephen Hawking born (1942); David Bowie born (1947).

Peter Yarrow

"Folk singer Peter Yarrow, best known as a member of the trio Peter, Paul and Mary, has died at 86."

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/07/nx-s1-4900572/peter-yarrow-paul-mary-obituary?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

January 7

Galileo Galilei discovers first three Jupiter moons (1610); First US presidential election completed (1789); Author Zora Neale Hurston born (1891); Inventor Nikola Tesla dies (1943); NFL star Lamar Jackson born (1997). 

January 6

Joan of Arc born (1412); Telegraph publicly demonstrated for first time (1838); President Teddy Roosevelt dies (1919); US Capitol stormed in attempt to disrupt certification of 2020 electoral results (2021); Actor Sidney Poitier dies (2022). 

January 3

 "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien born (1892); The US cuts diplomatic ties with Cuba (1961); Apple is incorporated (1977); Author Joy Adamson murdered (1980); Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega surrenders to the US (1990).

January 4

Boxer Floyd Patterson born (1935); Biographer and journalist Doris Kearns Goodwin born (1943); Luna 1 is first spacecraft to reach vicinity of the moon (1959); Poet TS Eliot dies (1965); Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world, opens in Dubai (2010). 

January 2

Spanish Reconquista completed (1492); Viet Cong achieve first major victory of Vietnam War (1963); President Ronald Reagan sworn in as California governor (1967); President Jimmy Carter ends US-Russia détente (1980). 

December 31

Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000-year lease, begins brewing at Dublin's St. James's Gate (1759); Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting in public for first time (1879); First New Year's Eve celebration held in Times Square (1904); The country of Kiribati skips the day altogether (1994).