The writing that influenced the U.S. Declaration of Independence, and the remarkable achievement of the document itself - with a reading from the letter recalling the solemn

George Washington's first battle ends in his surrender, but 21 years later - to the day - he assumes command of the Continental Army, the bloody Battle of Gettysburg ends, the Falls Curfew, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman - with a reading from "The Yellow Wall-Paper."

Johann Sebastian Bach's "Magnificat," dissolving political bands, the Amistad, "Finlandia," by Jean Sibelius, The U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, Hermann Hesse, and Thurgood Marshall - with a reading from Hesse's “On Little Joys.”

The Battle of Gettysburg begins, Canada becomes a nation, the Battle of the Somme begins, too, "Inundation Day," and George Sand's birthday - with a reading from "Indiana."

The Evolution Debate of 1860 at Oxford, Abraham Lincoln signs the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Albert Einstein, the National Organization of Women, and Joan Murrell Owens - with a reading of "One Sea-Side Grave," by Christina Rossetti.

The Globe Theater burns to the ground, Giacomo Leopardi, Celia Thaxter, and Antoine de Saint-Exupery - with a reading of Thaxter's "The Sandpiper."

The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the Treaty of Versailles - with a reading of one of my favorite poems: "The Traveller-Heart," by Vachel Lindsay.

Emma Goldman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Helen Keller, and Grace Lee Boggs - with a reading of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Eagle."

The Charter of the United Nations, Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Harry Potter, Pearl S. Buck, and Violette Bushell Szabo - with a reading of "Sonnet," by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson.

George Armstrong Custer's reputation is a study in public relations, it's George Orwell's birthday - with a reading of “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton.