July 11: On This Day ...

In 1754, English censor Thomas Bowdler was born. He was the author of Family Shakespeare, a clean, kid-friendly version of the Bard's filthy, porn-drenched original works. This Good Parts version did more to popularise Shakespeare amongst the easily upset than Leonardo diCaprio and Mel Gibson combined. To this day, the term 'bowdlerise' means that someone cared enough about a work of artistic smut to make it palatable, and available in supermarkets.

In 1859, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities was published. You will never be this good.

In 1899, style guru E. B. White was born. He was the White in Strunk & White. If you had to click on that link to find out what Strunk & White means, stop writing.

In 1930, literary critic Harold Bloom was born, and immediately published a scathing review of the obstetrician's cold hands.

In 1955, (according to Wikipedia), the phrase In God We Trust was added to US currency, replacing the Latin motto E Pluribus Unum ("out of many, one"), which was subsequently adopted as a motto by slush readers.

In 1960, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird was published. You will never be this good (and even Harper Lee knew it).

In 1971, Astounding Science Fiction editor John W. Campbell finally succumbed to the slushpile. Campbell was hailed as a leading proponent of the genre, and an intolerable crackpot, often by the same people.

In 1983, crime writer Ross McDonald stopped writing, the hard-boiled way.