July 11, 1850: a wealthy Baltimore family welcomes a daughter who will grow up to refuse every salary she's ever offered and write over 77,000 letters on behalf of missionaries she'd mostly never meet. On today's Moments Almanac, we mark the birthday of Annie Armstrong — the strong-willed, unpaid, occasionally infuriating laywoman behind the Woman's Missionary Union and the Easter offering that still bears her name. This one isn't a hero story. It's an honest one — and it might be better for it.

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