The 522nd Artillery Group stops a WWII forced march and saved hundreds and it's the birthday of pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock - and a reading from Charlotte Armstrong's "The Unsuspected."

England and Scotland form Great Britain, Carl Linnaeus publishes 'Species Plantarum,' which began the use of the two Latin names that identify species, the Memphis Massacre begins, worker rallies lead to the creation of May Day, and it's the birthday of Joseph Heller - with a reading from his novel, 'Catch 22.'

The birthday club includes John Crow Ransom, Annie Dillard, and Jane Campion - with a reading from Dillard's master work "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek."

On her birthday, a look back at the writing and other creative work of Amy Krouse Rosenthal - with a reading from her "Modern Love" essay in The New York Times, titled "You May Want to Marry My Husband."

Muhammad Ali refuses to be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War and the birthday club includes Harper Lee and Terry Pratchett - with a reading from Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird."

It is the birthday of feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft. We look back on her life, her writing, and influence. This episode also includes a reading from Wollstonecraft's landmark work "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman."

Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty for French emigres who fled the 1789 Revolution and the birthday club includes Ma Rainey, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Bernard Malamud - with a reading from Malamud's novel "The Fixer."

A scientific paper identifies - for the first time - the double-helix shape of DNA, Robert Noyce is granted the U.S. patent for an integrated circuit – better known as the computer microchip, and it is the birthday of singer-songwriter Albert King. This episode includes a reading of Nikki Giovanni's "Make Me Rain."

The U.S. Library of Congress is established and the birthday club includes Anthony Trollope and Robert Penn Warren - with a reading from Trollope's novel, "The Way We Live Now."

The birthday club includes William Shakespeare, George Steiner, Roy Orbison, and Victoria Glendinning - with a reading from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."