King Herod gets himself a bad name
On this day in AD 1 it is said that King Herod of Judea ordered the massacre of all children under the age of two... Read More
Pope John Paul II makes an unlikely friend
On this day in 1983 Pope John Paul II met Mehmet Ali Ağca, the man who had shot him two years previously in an attempt... Read More
Tennessee Williams mirrors his life in his plays
On this day in 1947 the play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams was premiered in New York. Williams did not write this, his first... Read More
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Christmas news
Today people all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Purists have long argued over the exact date that this happened. About the... Read More
Franz Gruber has a quiet night
On this day in 1818 Franz Gruber, a teacher and organist in Arnsdorf, Austria, composed the music of the Christmas carol Silent Night. In Britain,... Read More
Claude Debussy writes ‘la mer’ – at Eastbourne
On this day in 1894 Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune was first performed in Paris. Based on French poet Stéphane Mallarmé’s beautiful poem,... Read More
Edwin Arlington Robinson undervalues his talent
On this day in 1869 the poet Edwin Arlington Robinson was born in Maine. Robinson published his first work while at Harvard where he seems... Read More