Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" turns 250, The New England Journal of Medicine published the letter "Addiction Rare in Patients Treated with Narcotics," and the birthday club includes Jim Croce, Donald Fagen, and Shawn Colvin - with a reading from Voltaire's "Candide."

Philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, author Judith Krantz, and musician Joan Baez were all born on this day. This episode includes a reading from Beauvoir's landmark book "The Second Sex."

President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address and the birthday club includes Gypsy Rose Lee and Graham Chapman - with a reading from Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!"

Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Comic-book founder Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson and novelist Zora Neale Hurston were born on this day. This episode also includes a reading from Hurston's landmark novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

The birthday club includes Charles Sumner, Alan Watts, E. L. Doctorow, and Elizabeth Strout - with a reading from Doctorow's novel "Ragtime."

Henry Ford announces a big raise and shorter work day for car builders, Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" premieres, and the birthday club includes Stella Gibbons, Umberto Eco, and Hayao Miyazaki - with a reading from Gibbons' "Cold Comfort Farm."

Solomon Northup regains his freedom after being enslaved for 12 years. This episode includes a reading from Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities."

Today's birthday club includes J. R. R. Tolkien, Anne Stephenson, and Stephen Stills - with a reading from Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

The second Palmer Raid sweeps up American citizens who were immigrants and it's the birthday of a giant in wilderness conservation Robert Marshall - with a reading from the 1964 Wilderness Act.

The U.S. bans importation of slaves, the Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect, and the birthday club includes Maria Edgeworth, E. M. Forster, and J. D. Salinger - with a reading from Edgeworth's "Castle Rackrent."

Arthur Guiness signs a 9,000 year lease for a brewery, Thomas Edison unveils his incandescent light, and U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces the end of combat in the Second World War. The birthday club includes Simon Wiesenthal and John Denver - with a reading from Robert Ingersoll's "The Liberty Of Man, Woman And Child."

Today's birthday club includes Rudyard Kipling, Bo Diddley, and Douglas Coupland - with a reading from Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility."

Czech writer Vaclav Havel becomes President of Czechoslovakia, the language Akkala Sami dies, and the birthday club includes Rick Danko, Marianne Faithfull, and Paula Poundstone - with a reading from Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days."

The first writing on X-rays, the ESA is signed into law, and the birthday club includes Catharine Maria Sedgwick and Charlie Pierce - with a reading from Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

The Flushing Remonstrance, Darwin sets sail on the HMS Beagle, and the birthday club includes Cokie Roberts and Sarah Vowell - with a reading from J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan."

The Beatles release a couple hits in the U.S., Kwanzaa is first celebrated, the Soviet Union dissolves, and the birthday club includes Mary Sommerville, Henry Miller, and David Sedaris -with a reading from his book "Me Talk Pretty One Day."

The birthday club includes Sir Isaac Newton and Carlos Castaneda - with a reading from Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden."

"Silent Night" premieres, "Aida," too, and the birthday club includes Mary Higgins Clark and Stephanie Meyer - with a reading from Clark's "The Second Time Around."

Jane Austen publishes "Emma," women are considered equal in UK workplaces, and the birthday club includes Norman Maclean and Jorma Kaukonen - with a reading from Maclean's novella "A River Runs Through It."

Beethoven conducts and performs the concert of a lifetime, U.S. Pres. Truman tries to alleviate Europe's refugee crisis, Mao Zedong orders China's young adults to the rural countryside, and Doctors Without Borders is formed - with a reading from Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment."