Ornithologist John James Audubon was born on this day in 1785, his masterpiece “Birds of America” contained 435 life-sized hand-colored plates of birds.

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“Behind the screen of the ordinary can be found unique and wonderful things.” –Ted Kooser, poet, celebrating his 83rd birthday today.

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On this day in 1916, the Easter Rising began in Dublin. While it failed as a rebellion, it galvanized a movement. Five years later the Republic of Ireland achieved independence.

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It’s the birthday of the American writer Barry Hannah (1942). He said, “I loved the life, the secret life, of the typewriter when the house was quiet.”

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"Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe ... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me." – Immanuel Kant, born on this day in 1724.

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Naturalist John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, on this day in 1838. The founder of the Sierra Club was essential in protecting American wilderness areas.

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“Southern trees bear a strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the root”—The song “Strange Fruit” was recorded on this day in 1939 by Billie Holiday.

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"There are no good girls gone wrong, just bad girls found out."—author and Actress Mae West, who was jailed on this day in 1927 for her performance in “Sex” on broadway.

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Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Susan Faludi was born on this day in 1959. Her latest work is a memoir, “In the Darkroom.”

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"The sentence is my primary element, my tool, goal, bliss. Each new sentence is a heart-in-the mouth experiment." -- novelist and essayist Cynthia Ozick, was born on this day in 1928.

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