Journalist and writer John Hersey was born on June 17, 1914, in Tientsin, China. He accompanied the Army on several operations in World War II and is best remembered for his collection of stories from survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Anthropologist Ruth Fulton Benedict was born on June 5, 1887, in New York City, New York. Benedict developed her own theories on culture and conducted special research for the US government during World War II.
On June 3, 1888, the now-famous poem “Casey at the Bat” was first published in the San Francisco Daily Examiner. It’s been performed and recorded thousands of times and adapted to several other media, become the most famous baseball poem in history.
On May 23, 1895, the New York Public Library was established. Exactly 16 years later, on May 23, 1911, the main branch of the library opened its doors to the public. Today, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the country and the fourth largest in the world.
On May 3, 1915, Canadian physician John McCrae penned the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” in honor of a fallen fellow soldier following the Second Battle of Ypres. The poem became a rallying cry among Allied nations to continue fighting and support the war effort.
Author Robert Penn Warren was born on April 24, 1905, in Guthrie, Kentucky. The winner of multiple Pulitzer Prizes, he was the first US Poet Laureate.
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Poet, actor, author, teacher, and activist, Angelou became an influential voice of the 20th century.
Thomas Lanier “Tennessee” Williams III was born on March 26, 1911, in Columbus, Mississippi. One of the most successful playwrights of the 20th century, several of his works were adapted into films.
Mary Flannery O’Connor was born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Georgia. In a career cut short by disease, she produced two novels and more than 30 short stories that have led some to consider her one of the greatest short story writers of the 20th century.