otd

<p>Happy (?) birthday Ambrose Bierce! The American journalist, born <a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#onthisday</a> in 1842, is best known for his satirical dictionary The Cynic’s Word Book also known as The Devil’s Dictionary. Read it here: <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-cynic-s-word-book-1906" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-cynic-s-word-book-1906"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">publicdomainreview.org/collect</span><span class="invisible">ion/the-cynic-s-word-book-1906</span></a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#otd</a></p>

<p>&quot;You need not be afraid to give us our rights for fear we will take too much, for we won&#x27;t take more than our pint&#x27;ll hold.&quot;</p><p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 29 May 1851, Sojourner Truth addresses the Woman&#x27;s Rights Convention in Ohio. </p><p>Her speech is commonly known as &#x27;ain&#x27;t I a woman&#x27; although that comes from a dubious transcript that uses racial tropes. </p><p>Read more about that at <a href="https://www.thesojournertruthproject.com/compare-the-speeches/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thesojournertruthproject.com/compare-the-speeches/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thesojournertruthproject.c</span><span class="invisible">om/compare-the-speeches/</span></a> </p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/americanhistory/" rel="tag">#AmericanHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p>Helen Craik (1751–1825), Gothic novelist &amp; friend of Robert Burns, died 200 years ago <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 11 June. Craik published 5 novels but no poetry. In 1919, excerpts of her poems appeared in a newspaper, but the source – a notebook Craik presented to a family friend – disappeared…</p><p>1/6</p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/romanticism/" rel="tag">#romanticism</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/gothic/" rel="tag">#Gothic</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#WomenWriters</a> <a href="/tags/manuscripts/" rel="tag">#manuscripts</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 11 Jun 1987, Diane Abbott is elected to the British Parliament. She is the first Black woman to become an MP.</p><p>Abbott has held shadow cabinet posts in the Labour party, and is the longest serving Black MP. She currently holds the title &quot;Mother of the House&quot;, given to the female MP with the longest uninterrupted service in the House of Commons.</p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/britishhistory/" rel="tag">#BritishHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p>Christian Isobel Johnstone (1781–1857) – novelist, journalist, &amp; editor – was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 12 June.</p><p>Johnstone was editor for more than a decade of Tait’s Edinburgh Magazine, a journal famous for its vigorous liberal viewpoints &amp; incisive literary reviews, &amp; wrote some of the most remarkable Scottish novels of the <a href="/tags/romantic/" rel="tag">#Romantic</a> era.</p><p>1/4</p><p><a href="https://www.scottishwomenwritersontheweb.net/writers-a-to-z/christian-isobel-johnstone" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scottishwomenwritersontheweb.net/writers-a-to-z/christian-isobel-johnstone"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scottishwomenwritersonthew</span><span class="invisible">eb.net/writers-a-to-z/christian-isobel-johnstone</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/romanticism/" rel="tag">#romanticism</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 12 Jun 1948, the Womens Armed Services Integration Act is signed by US President Truman, allowing women to serve in the military outside wartime.</p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/americanhistory/" rel="tag">#AmericanHistory</a></p>

<p>47 years ago<br>Wonderful young ladies at the beginning of their careers 🌹💜</p><p>Kate Pierson &amp; Cindy Wilson on the night of the first B-52′s gig at CBGB, June 1978</p><p>Photo by Bobby Grossman</p><p><a href="/tags/punk/" rel="tag">#punk</a> <a href="/tags/punkrock/" rel="tag">#punkrock</a> <a href="/tags/newwave/" rel="tag">#newwave</a> <a href="/tags/womenofpunk/" rel="tag">#womenofpunk</a> <a href="/tags/theb52s/" rel="tag">#theb52s</a> <a href="/tags/cbgb/" rel="tag">#cbgb</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#history</a> <a href="/tags/punkrockhistory/" rel="tag">#punkrockhistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#otd</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OtD</a> 19 Jun 1937 police massacred 16 people and injured nearly 300 when striking steelworkers&#x27; wives and children demonstrated in their support in Youngstown, Ohio. Many were shot in the back as they ran from the police <a href="https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9116/Women&#x27;s-day-massacre" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9116/Women&#x27;s-day-massacre"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stories.workingclasshistory.co</span><span class="invisible">m/article/9116/Women&#x27;s-day-massacre</span></a></p>

<p>James Hutton (1726–1797), father of modern geology, was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 14 June (NS; 3 June OS). One of the first European proponents of “deep time”, the conclusion of his 1788 paper “Theory of the Earth” has been called one of the most lyrical sentences in all of science:</p><p>The result, therefore, of our present enquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,—no prospect of an end.</p><p>1/3</p><p><a href="https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/2808" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/2808"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.nationalgalleries.org/art-</span><span class="invisible">and-artists/2808</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/enlightenment/" rel="tag">#Enlightenment</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/deeptime/" rel="tag">#DeepTime</a> <a href="/tags/science/" rel="tag">#science</a> <a href="/tags/geology/" rel="tag">#geology</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 14 Jun 1939, Ethel Waters stars in The Ethel Waters Show on NBC, becoming the first black person to have their own show on US TV. </p><p>Photo is from her radio show.</p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/blackhistory/" rel="tag">#BlackHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> the poem &quot;Casey at the Bat&quot; was published in The San Francisco Examiner (then called The Daily Examiner) in 1888.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_at_the_Bat" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_at_the_Bat"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_at</span><span class="invisible">_the_Bat</span></a></p><p>Books about baseball at PG</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=baseball" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=baseball"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subje</span><span class="invisible">cts/search/?query=baseball</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/sports/" rel="tag">#sports</a></p>

<p>“Annie S. Swan both requires revaluation through her own biography &amp; calls into question easy valorisations of ‘danger’ as expressed in terms of explicit challenge &amp; radicalism. The extent of her appeal &amp; influence demands a more nuanced analysis of the politics of emotion &amp; the gendering of reader response”</p><p>—Prof Glenda Norquay on Annie S. Swan (1859–1943) – born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 8 July</p><p>@litstudies </p><p>1/3</p><p><a href="https://dangerouswomenproject.org/2016/09/08/annie-shepherd-swan/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="dangerouswomenproject.org/2016/09/08/annie-shepherd-swan/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">dangerouswomenproject.org/2016</span><span class="invisible">/09/08/annie-shepherd-swan/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/romance/" rel="tag">#romance</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a></p>

<p>&quot;The air is the only place free of prejudices.&quot;</p><p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 15 Jun 1921, Bessie Coleman gained her pilot&#x27;s license, becoming the first civilian African-American pilot in the world. And the first of Native American descent.</p><p>Read more about her in our NEW blogpost! <a href="https://carvehername.org.uk/bessie-coleman-and-other-early-american-aviators/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="carvehername.org.uk/bessie-coleman-and-other-early-american-aviators/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">carvehername.org.uk/bessie-col</span><span class="invisible">eman-and-other-early-american-aviators/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/blackhistory/" rel="tag">#BlackHistory</a> <a href="/tags/aviationhistory/" rel="tag">#AviationHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p>Something to die for</p><p>To die: to give up life for<br>to die for means to live for<br>would we want to die for what<br>we would not live for?</p><p>—“Saving the Planet” by Tessa Ransford (1938–2015) – poet, activist, &amp; founding director of the Scottish Poetry Library – born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 8 July </p><p><a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/saving-planet/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/saving-planet/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.</span><span class="invisible">uk/poem/saving-planet/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/environment/" rel="tag">#environment</a> <a href="/tags/ecology/" rel="tag">#ecology</a></p>

<p>The Far Side of Lorna Moon</p><p>“I’m always either convinced that nobody can write as I can – or that I’m the world’s louseyest writer.”</p><p>Lorna Moon (1886–1930) was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 16 June, as Nora Helen Wilson Low, in Strichen. Dr Glenda Norquay writes about her journey from Aberdeenshire to Hollywood</p><p>1/4</p><p><a href="https://asls.org.uk/the-far-side-of-lorna-moon/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="asls.org.uk/the-far-side-of-lorna-moon/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">asls.org.uk/the-far-side-of-lo</span><span class="invisible">rna-moon/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/owmenwriters/" rel="tag">#owmenwriters</a> <a href="/tags/screenwriting/" rel="tag">#screenwriting</a> <a href="/tags/hollywood/" rel="tag">#Hollywood</a> <a href="/tags/hollywoodhistory/" rel="tag">#HollywoodHistory</a> <a href="/tags/film/" rel="tag">#film</a> <a href="/tags/cinema/" rel="tag">#cinema</a> <a href="/tags/aberdeenshire/" rel="tag">#Aberdeenshire</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 16 June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space, orbiting Earth 48 times in Vostok 6.</p><p>She is currently a member of the Russian State Duma (lower house), and supporter of Putin.</p><p><a href="/tags/womeninspace/" rel="tag">#WomenInSpace</a> <a href="/tags/spacehistory/" rel="tag">#SpaceHistory</a> <a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p>“not only is there no invocation of the free market […Smith] plainly sees that government, not private industry, is the only force capable of effectively ‘erecting and maintaining’ the technically unprofitable but nevertheless indispensable ‘publick works’ and ‘publick institutions’ […] essential to every modern state.”</p><p>—Adam Smith (1723–1790) was baptised <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 16 June. Evan Gottlieb examines Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”</p><p><a href="https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2013/05/invisible-hand-over-fist-on-the-development-and-legacy-of-adam-smiths-famous-phrase/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2013/05/invisible-hand-over-fist-on-the-development-and-legacy-of-adam-smiths-famous-phrase/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2013/0</span><span class="invisible">5/invisible-hand-over-fist-on-the-development-and-legacy-of-adam-smiths-famous-phrase/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/economics/" rel="tag">#economics</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a></p>

<p>&quot;You have trampled under foot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights, are all alike ignored.&quot;</p><p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 17 Jun 1873, Susan B Anthony is tried for illegally voting in the 1872 US Presidential election. </p><p><a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/votesforwomen/" rel="tag">#VotesForWomen</a> <a href="/tags/americanhistory/" rel="tag">#AmericanHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a><br>1/2</p>

<p>The Battle of Waterloo was fought <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 18 June, 1815. Walter Scott visited the battlefield shortly after; his 1816 book PAUL’S LETTERS TO HIS KINSFOLK contains one of the earliest accounts of the aftermath, &amp; is an important early example of war journalism</p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/walter-scott-war-journalism-from-the-waterloo-battlefield-43304" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="theconversation.com/walter-scott-war-journalism-from-the-waterloo-battlefield-43304"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theconversation.com/walter-sco</span><span class="invisible">tt-war-journalism-from-the-waterloo-battlefield-43304</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/waterloo/" rel="tag">#Waterloo</a> <a href="/tags/sirwalterscott/" rel="tag">#SirWalterScott</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OtD</a> 19 Jun 1843 a crowd of around 4500 &quot;Rebecca&quot; rioters with blackened faces and dressed as women gathered and attacked the Carmarthen workhouse in Wales, and set about destroying it. It took the arrival of a unit of the British army to disperse them <a href="https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9110/rebecca-rioters-attack-carmarthen-workhouse" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9110/rebecca-rioters-attack-carmarthen-workhouse"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stories.workingclasshistory.co</span><span class="invisible">m/article/9110/rebecca-rioters-attack-carmarthen-workhouse</span></a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#OnThisDay</a>, 18 Jun 1983, Sally Ride is the first woman to be a US astronaut, on board the Challenger shuttle.</p><p>A new documentary, &#x27;Sally&#x27; (2025, Cristina Costantini) explores her achievements and why she felt she had to hide her sexuality.</p><p><a href="/tags/womeninspace/" rel="tag">#WomenInSpace</a> <a href="/tags/womeninhistory/" rel="tag">#WomenInHistory</a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> <a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#History</a> <a href="/tags/womenshistory/" rel="tag">#WomensHistory</a> <a href="/tags/histodons/" rel="tag">#Histodons</a></p>

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OtD</a> 20 Jun 1905 the King of Sweden publicly ended plans to invade the recently independent Norway. The announcement was prompted by the threat of a nationwide general strike by Swedish unions if mobilisation for war went ahead <a href="https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9284/swedish-invasion-of-norway-blocked" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9284/swedish-invasion-of-norway-blocked"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">stories.workingclasshistory.co</span><span class="invisible">m/article/9284/swedish-invasion-of-norway-blocked</span></a></p>

<p>I can see da rüfs aa taekit, an da hens aroond da door;<br>Fok kerryin twartree paets hame, an rigs delled every voar.<br>Aa da lums ir reekin, an I hear da happy soonds<br>O peerie bairns skirlin, as dey play dem ower da toons…</p><p>—“Da Clearance”, by Rhoda Bulter (1929–94), born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 15 July</p><p>A 🎂🧵 – 1/3</p><p>Listen to Rhoda Bulter reading “Da Clearance” here</p><p><a href="https://www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/da-clearance" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/da-clearance"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.shetlanddialect.org.uk/da-</span><span class="invisible">clearance</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/scots/" rel="tag">#Scots</a> <a href="/tags/scotslanguage/" rel="tag">#Scotslanguage</a> <a href="/tags/shetland/" rel="tag">#Shetland</a> <a href="/tags/shetlandic/" rel="tag">#Shetlandic</a></p>

<p>French educator Louis Braille was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1809. He was the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people.</p><p>At just 15 years old, Braille began refining Barbier&#x27;s system, developing a code based on a six-dot cell structure that allowed for efficient representation of letters, numbers, and even musical notation. </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Br</span><span class="invisible">aille</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/braille/" rel="tag">#braille</a> <a href="/tags/education/" rel="tag">#education</a> <a href="/tags/communication/" rel="tag">#communication</a></p>

<p>Circular snapshots from the very first <span class="h-card"><a href="https://mastodon.social/@kodak" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>kodak</span></a></span> camera (the first truly portable camera) — invented by George Eastman who was born <a href="/tags/onthisday/" rel="tag">#onthisday</a> in New York in 1854. more examples here: <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kodak-no-1-circular-snapshots" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="publicdomainreview.org/collection/kodak-no-1-circular-snapshots"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">publicdomainreview.org/collect</span><span class="invisible">ion/kodak-no-1-circular-snapshots</span></a> <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a></p>