In 1975, Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands.

Above: Prime Minister Henck Arron, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, and the first President of Suriname, Johan Ferrier

On this day in 1963, C.S. Lewis, John F. Kennedy, and Aldous Huxley died.

In 1877, Thomas Edison announced his invention of the phonograph.

Born in 1918 – Corita Kent, American nun, illustrator, and educator.

“If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch on to things.”

Born in 1942 – Sharon Olds, American poet.

The Unborn

Sometimes I can almost see, around our heads,
Like gnats around a streetlight in summer,
The children we could have,
The glimmer of them.

Sometimes I feel them waiting, dozing
In some antechamber – servants, half-
Listening for the bell.

Sometimes I see them lying like love letters
In the Dead Letter Office

And sometimes, like tonight, by some black
Second sight I can feel just one of them
Standing on the edge of a cliff by the sea
In the dark, stretching its arms out
Desperately to me.

Born in 1899 – Howard Thurman, American author, philosopher and civil rights activist.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Born in 1942 – Martin Scorsese, American filmmaker.

Above: Scorsese, with Joe Pesci on the set of the 2019 film, The Irishman.

In 1849, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky was sentenced to death for anti-government activities. His sentence was later commuted to hard labor.

“Bad people are to be found everywhere, but even among the worst there may be something good.”
― Dostoevsky, The House of the Dead

Born in 1840 – Claude Monet, French painter.

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”

Born in 1938 – Jean Seberg, American-French actress and singer.

Above: Seberg in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film À bout de souffle.

Previously, Augustine of Hippo.