Naturalist, author, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817, in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau valued simple living, nature and the importance of protesting injustice through civil disobedience. As one of America’s most famous transcendentalists, his works have influenced some of the greatest leaders in modern history.
Robert F. Panara was born on July 8, 1920, in the Bronx, New York. Panara was one of America’s leading deaf educators. His work helped pioneer the field and promote the idea that deafness is not a disability, but a different way to view the world.
Author Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was born on June 26, 1892, in Hillsboro, West Virginia. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, the Nobel Prize in 1938, and was the only woman at that time to receive both honors.
Charles Waddell Chesnutt was born on June 20, 1858, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was a critically-acclaimed author and the first African American novelist to have his work published in the prestigious Atlantic Monthly Magazine.
Acclaimed poet Theodore Huebner Roethke was born on May 25, 1908, in Saginaw, Michigan. Considered one of the most influential poets of his time, he won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and two National Book Awards for Poetry.
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri.
Author Willa Sibert Cather was born on December 7, 1873, in Gore, Virginia.
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stephen Vincent Benét was born on July 22, 1898, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.