The first writing on X-rays, the ESA is signed into law, and the birthday club includes Catharine Maria Sedgwick and Charlie Pierce - with a reading from Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

The Flushing Remonstrance, Darwin sets sail on the HMS Beagle, and the birthday club includes Cokie Roberts and Sarah Vowell - with a reading from J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan."

The Beatles release a couple hits in the U.S., Kwanzaa is first celebrated, the Soviet Union dissolves, and the birthday club includes Mary Sommerville, Henry Miller, and David Sedaris -with a reading from his book "Me Talk Pretty One Day."

The birthday club includes Sir Isaac Newton and Carlos Castaneda - with a reading from Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden."

"Silent Night" premieres, "Aida," too, and the birthday club includes Mary Higgins Clark and Stephanie Meyer - with a reading from Clark's "The Second Time Around."

Jane Austen publishes "Emma," women are considered equal in UK workplaces, and the birthday club includes Norman Maclean and Jorma Kaukonen - with a reading from Maclean's novella "A River Runs Through It."

Beethoven conducts and performs the concert of a lifetime, U.S. Pres. Truman tries to alleviate Europe's refugee crisis, Mao Zedong orders China's young adults to the rural countryside, and Doctors Without Borders is formed - with a reading from Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."

Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" premieres in Copenhagen, the first crossword puzzle is published, and the birthday club includes Maria Cadilla and Frank Zappa - with a reading from Ibsen's "Enemy of the People."

South Carolina secedes from the Union, Captain America first appears, and the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" premieres - with a reading from Eugene Debs' statement to the court after his conviction for violating the Sedition Act.

Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet "The American Crisis" and the birthday club includes Carter Woodson and Edith Piaf - with a reading from Woodson's "The Mis-Education of the Negro."