This Day in History

Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the Moor of Venice, first premiered on stage in London

Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the Moor of Venice, first premiered on stage in London. The play follows the undoing of the tragic hero, Othello, by the hand of Shakespeare’s most manipulative and masterful villain, Iago. (November 01, 1604)

Dutch writer Charles Edgar du Perron, known to his readers as E

Dutch writer Charles Edgar du Perron, known to his readers as E. du Perron, was born in the Dutch East Indies. Du Perron achieved writing fame in 1935 when he published Land of Origin, now considered to be his masterpiece. (November 02, 1899)

French author and playwright Olympe de Gouges was guillotined during the French Revolution

French author and playwright Olympe de Gouges was guillotined during the French Revolution. Gouges became “dangerous” to the Jacobins in power with her writings that advocated women’s rights and the abolition of slavery. After imprisonment for three months, during which she was not given the rights of an attorney, she was publicly executed. Gouges’ writings were said to be an important influence on Mary Wollstonecraft’s publication of The Vindication of the Rights of Women, an important feminist work. (November 03, 1793)

Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, an extensive treatise on dream analysis, psychoanalysis, and the Oedipus complex, was published

Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, an extensive treatise on dream analysis, psychoanalysis, and the Oedipus complex, was published. The first publication was of only 600 copies, which did not sell out for almost eight years. Despite its slow start, the book eventually became widely read and was re-printed seven times in Freud’s lifetime. (November 04, 1899)

: American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox was born in Johnstown, Wisconsin

: American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox was born in Johnstown, Wisconsin. Ella wrote poetry as a child and was first published in a local Wisconsin paper. Being unable to afford the paper’s subscription, she never even saw it in print, as the newspaper did not let her know when it would be published. As she grew older, Ella experimented with spiritualism and developed a modern, optimistic style of poetry. While you may not recognize her name, you may recognize some of her lines of poetry, which have become common aphorisms in American culture. These include “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone” and “Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes.” (November 05, 1850)

American author Michael Cunningham was born in Cincinnati, Ohio

American author Michael Cunningham was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cunningham is best known for his novel The Hours, but he also experienced in writing poetry, prose, and drama. (November 06, 1952)

Absurdist writer Albert Camus was born in French Algeria

Absurdist writer Albert Camus was born in French Algeria. Camus is remembered for his philosophical thoughts and foundation of absurdism, as well as his works The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger and The Plague. Camus was the second-youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature and was killed in a car accident only two years later at the age of 46. (November 07, 1913)

Benjamin Franklin founded The Library Company of Philadelphia, the first public library in America

Benjamin Franklin founded The Library Company of Philadelphia, the first public library in America. It was based on membership, but nonmembers were welcome. They had to pay to check out a book, but upon returning the book their money was returned. The library still stands in Philadelphia, although it has grown, downsized, and moved several times in its almost three hundred year history. (November 08, 1731)

Modernist poet Dylan Thomas died due to a severe case of bronchitis

Modernist poet Dylan Thomas died due to a severe case of bronchitis. The poet, who is most remembered for his poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night,” was only 39. (November 09, 1953)

American author William Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature

American author William Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although mostly unknown at the time of his award, Faulkner is now a pillar of American literature, with his novels Absolam! Absolam!, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying and Light in August being widely read. His first ever published story, “A Rose for Emilly,” is also one of the most popular and widely taught short stories in ELA classes. (November 10, 1950)

: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow, Russia

: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow, Russia. Despite being imprisoned and nearly executed for supporting banned literature, Dostoevsky was released and eventually wrote novels such as Crime and Punishment. Dostoevsky’s literature helped shape existentialist views and continue to be widely read to this day. (November 11, 1821)

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is published as a stand-alone novella for the first time after being previously published in serialized form

Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is published as a stand-alone novella for the first time after being previously published in serialized form. The book raises questions about imperialism and is considered by many one of the best works published in the 20th century. (November 13, 1902)

Robert Louis Stevenson’s story Treasure Island was published as a stand-alone novel by Cassell & Co

Robert Louis Stevenson’s story Treasure Island was published as a stand-alone novel by Cassell & Co. The novel has had an enormous influence on both literature and culture, as it established popular “pirate” perceptions such as marking spots on a map with an X and one-legged pirates with parrots on their shoulders. The coming-of-age novel has been recreated and dramatized more than most other stories. (November 14, 1883)

Four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kansas

Four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kansas. The brutal crime, which was seemingly done without motive, inspired Truman Capote to investigate. For years he reported on the investigation and extensively interviewed the two murderers. The material was eventually transformed into his groundbreaking work, In Cold Blood. This book mixed nonfiction with narrative style, resulting in a new genre which Capote dubbed “the nonfiction novel.” (November 15, 1959)

Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize winner José Saramago was born in Santarém, Portugal

Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize winner José Saramago was born in Santarém, Portugal. Saramago is most famous for his novels The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, Blindness, and Death With Interruptions. (November 16, 1922)

French author Régis Debray was sentenced to 30 years in Bolivian prison for his involvement in the Che Guevara revolution

French author Régis Debray was sentenced to 30 years in Bolivian prison for his involvement in the Che Guevara revolution. He was released three years later after public advocation from writer Jean-Paul Sartre and Pope Paul VI. (November 17, 1967)

Mark Twain published his short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” in the New York Saturday Press

Mark Twain published his short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” in the New York Saturday Press. The story was well-received and launched the American writer’s career in fiction. ⁣ (November 18, 1865)

American expat Sylvia Beach established Shakespeare & Company, a bookstore and lending library in Paris

American expat Sylvia Beach established Shakespeare & Company, a bookstore and lending library in Paris. Writers such as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Ezra Pound were frequent visitors of Shakespeare & Co. The store was closed during the German occupation of Paris in 1941, but George Whitman opened the store that is currently situated along the Seine just steps away from the Notre Dame in 1951. The store is unique as it employs aspiring writers in exchange for lodging, as they sleep in the small cots and beds situated between the shelves. (November 19, 1919)

Swedish teacher and author Selma Lagerlöf was born in Värmland, Sweden

Swedish teacher and author Selma Lagerlöf was born in Värmland, Sweden. Lagerlöf published her first novel at the age of 33 and she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1909. ⁣ (November 20, 1858)

French humorist, historian, and writer François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name as Voltaire, was born in Paris

French humorist, historian, and writer François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name as Voltaire, was born in Paris. Voltaire was a prolific writer of the French Enlightenment, penning over 20,000 letters and 2000 books and pamphlets on many social subjects, including the separation of church and state and freedom of speech. (November 21, 1694)

Mary Anne Evans, known by her pen name as George Eliot, was born in Warwickshire, England

Mary Anne Evans, known by her pen name as George Eliot, was born in Warwickshire, England. Eliot was a leading voice of the Victorian period and her novels Middlemarch, Silas Marner, and The Mill on the Floss are still widely read today. ⁣ (November 22, 1819)

John Milton published Areopagitica, a historic pamphlet decrying censorship

John Milton published Areopagitica, a historic pamphlet decrying censorship. The publication, which was meant for distribution in pamphlet form, was actually recited orally before an assembly of Parliament in effort to defeat the Licensing Order of 1643. Milton wrote, “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.” Although Milton was unsuccessful in defeating the Order, his statements about freedom of speech have become fundamental truths in which many justice systems have been built on.⁣ (November 23, 1644)

John Steinbeck’s The Pearl was published

John Steinbeck’s The Pearl was published. The Pearl is a popular Steinbeck text in high school classrooms because it is simple but still functions as a parable. ⁣ (November 24, 1947)

Japanese author Kimitake Hiraoka committed suicide by the ritual known as seppuku

Japanese author Kimitake Hiraoka committed suicide by the ritual known as seppuku. Hirakoa became famous for his novels Confessions of a Mask and The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, even becoming a finalist for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He became involved in his own branch of Japanese militia and attempted a coup against the Japanese government. After the coup attempt failed, Hiraoka immediately performed the ritualistic suicide. Afterward, details convinced many that the coup attempt was done more as an excuse for Hiraoka to commit the ritualistic suicide, which he had been planning and envisioning for years. ⁣ (November 25, 1970)

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in America for the first time

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in America for the first time. Carroll’s short and treasured story has been a beloved children’s favorite, and to this day the book has never been out of print. (November 26, 1865)

American author James Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee

American author James Agee was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. Agee was a writer and screenwriter, making a living through reviews and freelance writing throughout his lifetime. Agee began working on his autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family, more than a decade before his death at the age of 45. After he died, Agee’s friend published the novel posthumously. The novel brought Agee fame he never experienced in his lifetime and even won him the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, awarded posthumously to his family. (November 27, 1909)

Today is the believed anniversary of William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway

Today is the believed anniversary of William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway. The two married under scandalous circumstances, as she was pregnant and eight years older than Shakespeare. They lived separately for most of their lives, as Shakespeare worked in London while Hathaway remained in Stratford with their family. ⁣ (November 28, 1582)

British author Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland

British author Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland. C.S. Lewis is best remembered as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series, as well as his Christian works Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters. (November 29, 1898)

Today is a big birthday for authors! Jonathan Swift, the Irish satirist and author was born in Dublin in 1667

Today is a big birthday for authors! Jonathan Swift, the Irish satirist and author was born in Dublin in 1667. American author Mark Twain, known best for Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was born in 1835 in Missouri. Finally, Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series, was born in Toronto, Canada in 1874. (November 30, 1900)