Today in Writing History August 1, 1819: Herman Melville was born. He was one of the greatest American writers of all time. The death of his merchant father in 1832 left his family destitute. So, he became a merchant seaman, having many of the same brutal and exploitative experiences other seamen had in those days. Rum, […]

Today in History July 31, 1703: The authorities placed write Daniel Defoe in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel. They did it because he published a politically satirical pamphlet. Instead of stones, people pelted him with flowers. Defoe’s most famous book, “Robinson Crusoe,” (1719) has been translated more than any other book in history, other than the Bible. He also

Bacon’s Rebellion Today in Labor History July 30, 1676: Nathaniel Bacon issued the “Declaration of the People of Virginia.” As a result, Bacon’s Rebellion began. This armed insurrection against the rule of Governor William Berkeley was the first insurrection and the first class uprising in North America. Thousands of indentured white Europeans united with free, indentured and enslaved blacks

Today in Labor History July 29, 1848: The police put down the Tipperary Revolt against British rule. The Young Ireland movement led this nationalist rebellion, which was part of a wave of European revolutions that occurred that year. Because the revolt occurred in the wake of the Great Famine, and the Irish were still suffering from hunger and poverty, it

Today in Labor History July 28, 1794: The authorities guillotined Robespierre, architect of the French Reign of Terror. There are too many historical novels set during the French Revolution to name them all. However, here are some of the most famous ones. “The Scarlet Pimpernel” (1905) by Baroness Orczy. “A Tale of Two Cities” (1859) by Charles Dickens. “Ninety-Three” (Quatrevingt-treize) by