89 years ago today
J.R.R. Tolkien Publishes The Hobbit
On September 21, 1937, George Allen & Unwin published J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, or There and Back Again — a story that had begun as a tale told to Tolkien's own children and grown into something far more ambitious. The book sold out its first print run of 1,500 copies by Christmas and earned immediate critical praise, with the Times Literary Supplement calling it "a perfectly constructed and well-written story." Tolkien's invention of Middle-earth, with its deep history, invented languages, and moral weight, was unlike anything in the existing tradition of fantasy literature. The book's publisher immediately asked for a sequel; Tolkien spent the next seventeen years writing it, producing The Lord of the Rings. Together the two works effectively created the template for modern epic fantasy and have sold over 100 million and 150 million copies respectively. The Hobbit remains one of the best-selling books ever published.
H.G. Wells
English Author & Science Fiction Pioneer
The father of modern science fiction, whose novels The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau essentially invented the genre's central preoccupations: time travel, alien invasion, invisibility, and the ethics of science. His 1898 Martian invasion story panicked radio listeners when adapted by Orson Welles in 1938.
Leonard Cohen
Canadian Singer-Songwriter & Poet
The brooding Montreal poet who became one of the most revered singer-songwriters of his era, whose "Hallelujah" has been covered more than 300 times and whose late-career albums — released in his 70s and 80s — were among his finest. He was ordained a Buddhist monk and wrote with equal command about desire, loss, faith, and irony.
Stephen King
American Horror & Fiction Author
The most commercially successful horror writer in history, whose novels Carrie, The Shining, It, The Stand, and Misery have defined popular horror for fifty years. He has published over 60 novels and 200 short stories, many of which have been adapted into landmark films and television series.
Gustav Holst
English Composer
Composer of The Planets suite (1916), one of the most beloved and influential orchestral works of the 20th century, whose movement "Mars, the Bringer of War" virtually invented the sound of outer space in film music. Holst was bemused by the fame The Planets brought him and felt it overshadowed his other work.
Kwame Nkrumah
First President of Ghana
The father of Ghanaian independence who led the first sub-Saharan African country to throw off colonial rule in 1957, and who championed pan-Africanism as a philosophy of continental unity. His vision inspired independence movements across Africa, even as his later authoritarian turn undermined the democracy he had built.
Battle of Prestonpans — Jacobites Win in 15 Minutes
Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite army routs the British government forces under Sir John Cope in under fifteen minutes at Prestonpans, Scotland. It was the most spectacular Jacobite victory of the '45 Rising, though ultimate defeat would come at Culloden.
New York City Burns After British Occupation
A mysterious fire sweeps through New York City shortly after British forces occupy it, destroying about a quarter of the city. Both sides blamed each other; the fire's origin was never conclusively determined.
French National Convention Abolishes the Monarchy
The newly convened French National Convention votes to abolish the monarchy and proclaims the First French Republic. King Louis XVI would be tried and guillotined less than four months later.
The Hobbit Published
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is released by Allen & Unwin, immediately selling out its first print run. The book launched Middle-earth and gave birth to the modern epic fantasy genre.
Malta Gains Independence
The small Mediterranean island of Malta becomes an independent nation within the British Commonwealth after 150 years of British rule. Its strategic harbor had made it one of the most fought-over islands in history, enduring heavy bombing during WWII.
Dead Sea Scrolls Released to Public
The Huntington Library in California releases photographs of all the Dead Sea Scrolls, breaking a 40-year monopoly held by a small team of scholars. The ancient Jewish texts, discovered in 1947, date from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD and shed extraordinary light on early Judaism and Christianity.
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Roman Poet
The greatest poet of ancient Rome, author of the Aeneid — the epic that gave Rome its foundational myth — as well as the Eclogues and Georgics. He died at Brindisi returning from Greece, reportedly asking on his deathbed that the unfinished Aeneid be burned. Augustus refused.
Walter Scott
Scottish Novelist & Poet
The inventor of the historical novel, whose Waverley, Ivanhoe, and Rob Roy created a template for fiction set in the past that shaped novelists from Dickens to Tolstoy. He spent his last years writing furiously to pay off enormous debts — and largely succeeded before his death.
Florence Griffith Joyner
American Sprinter
The fastest woman in history, "FloJo" set world records in the 100m (10.49 seconds) and 200m at the 1988 Seoul Olympics that still stand nearly four decades later. She died of an epileptic seizure at 38, her records and her flamboyant racing style permanently part of athletic legend.
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