The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise, the world's first national forest is created, "The Star-Spangled Banner" becomes the U.S. national anthem, and happy birthday to Ron Chernow - and a reading from "A Carnival Jangle" by Alice Dunbar Nelson.

The U.S. bans bringing slaves into the country, and the birthday club includes Shalom Aleichem, Kurt Weill, and Theodor Geisel - with a reading from Shalom Aleichem's story "On the Fiddle."

The world's first national park is established in the Yosemite Valley, and the birthday club includes Ralph Ellison and Harry Bellafonte - with a reading from Ellison's "Invisible Man."

Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse to mislead New World people to stock his ships, the Jay Treaty goes into effect enriching the U.S. and postponing war with the British, actress Hatty McDaniel wins an Academy Award, an admission that a bestseller about surviving the Holocaust was a hoax, and happy birthday to Dee Brown - with a reading from his history "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

Quite the birthday club: Michel de Montaigne, Ben Hecht, Ketti Frings, and Daniel Handler - with a reading from Montaigne's "Essays."

England's House of Commons votes to stop fighting American revolutionaries, Washington D.C. is moved under the jurisdiction of Congress, Abraham Lincoln speaks at Cooper Institute (now Cooper Union), and it is the birthday of John Steinbeck - with a reading from his masterwork "The Grapes of Wrath."

Both the Grand Canyon and Grand Teton National Parks are established, and the birthday club includes Victor Hugo, Levi Strauss, Fats Domino, and Johnny Cash - with a reading from Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Samuel Colt gets the patent for the revolver, Hiram Revels becomes the first Black man to serve in the U.S. Congress, and the birthday club includes Larry Gelbart, Anthony Burgess, George Harrison, Chelsea Handler, and Rashida Jones - with a reading from Ambrose Bierce.

Andrew Johnson becomes the first U.S. President to be impeached, the Zimmerman telegram promises to return Texas to Mexico, and happy birthday to Judith Butler - with a reading from Butler's "Undoing Gender."

The Gutenberg Bible is first printed, Werner Heisenberg writes about uncertainty in theoretical physics, Joe Rosenthal took the iconic picture of U.S. Marines raising a flag on Japan's Mount Suribachi, and happy birthday to Rebecca Goldstein - with a reading from "The Enchanted April," by Elizabeth von Arnim.