The Globe Theater in London burns down and the birthday club includes Giacomo Leopardi, Celia Thaxter, and Antoine St. Exupery - with a reading of Thaxter's "The Sandpiper."

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, European powers sign the Treaty of Versailles, and it is Mel Brook's birthday - with a look at his writing career and a reading from his memoir, "All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business."

On their birthdays, a look at the writing of Emma Goldman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Helen Keller, and Grace Lee Boggs - with a reading from Boggs' book "The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century."

War-weary allies sign the United Nations Charter, and Shirley Jackson publishes "The Lottery," and J. K. Rowling publishes "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." And on Pearl S. Buck's birthday, a look at her writing and a reading from her book "The Good Earth."

Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer is killed in combat and sparks one of the more intriguing studies in public relations. On his birthday, a look at the writing of George Orwell - with a reading of Lucille Clifton's "won't you celebrate with me."

John Cabot lands in the New World and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. On their birthdays, a look at the writing life of Ambrose Bierce and a reading from Anita Desai's "Clear Light of Day."

The typewriter is patented, the Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada, the Antarctic Treaty System goes into effect, Title IX is amended, and Pres. Nixon is recorded talking about obstructing the investigation into Watergate. It is June Carter Cash's birthday - with a reading of Sara Teasdale's "The Crystal Gazer."

Galileo is tried by the Roman Catholic Church and the U.S. Department of Justice is established. This episode also includes a reading from Frederick Douglass's essay "Reconstruction."

Marie-Joseph Angélique is condemned to death for burning Montreal, Chinese Empress Cixi declares war on the Western Powers, and this is the day of the arson and murder known as Mississippi Burning. It is the birthday of Jean-Paul Sartre, with a reading from his book "Being and Nothingness."

Samuel Morse gets the patent for the telegraph, the three-day, 1943 Detroit race riot begins, and it is the birthday of playwright Lillian Hellman - with a reading from her memoir "Pentimento."