One hundred forty years ago Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross after caring for the wounded in the U.S. Civil War and recognizing the need for aid was more than government could provide.

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Honoré de Balzac was born this day in 1799. A prolific novelist and playwright, he is recognized as one of the fathers of literary realism.

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Today would have been the 80th birthday of Nora Ephron, author of classic movies such as When Harry Met Sally (1989), and Sleepless in Seattle (1993). She said, “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”

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Today is the birthday of Tina Fey (1970) an actress and writer of humor for print, stage, and screen. She said in her book “Bossypants,” “Do your thing and don't care if they like it."

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Author Gary Paulsen is celebrating his 82nd birthday today. Author of “Hatchet” and “Dogsong” and other books mostly about coming of age and the wilderness.

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"Poetry is the liquid voice that can wear through stone." –Adrienne Rich, born May 16, 1929.

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"The Dyings have been too deep for me, and before I could raise my heart from one, another has come." –Emily Dickinson, died May 15, 1886.

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“It might be possible that the world itself is without meaning,” and “To love makes one solitary.” – quotes from “Mrs Dalloway” published May 14, 1925.

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The first American colony, Jamestown, was founded on this day 1607 in the territory of the Powhatan Algonquian people.

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“Writing, getting something down on the page, is a gratification that, like a child faced with a candy bar and an empty stomach, I have trouble postponing.” –Rosellen Brown, 1939

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