Literary Landmarks: Sarah Orne Jewett House Writer Sarah Orne Jewett spent much of her life in this stately Georgian residence, owned by her family since 1819. The view from her desk in the second-floor hall surveys the town's major intersection and provided her with material for her books, such as The Country of the Pointed Firs, which describe the character of the Maine countryside and seacoast with accuracy and affection. For more information click here: Jewett House, or click here for books by Sarah Orne Jewett.

Today's Birthdays:

• John Wesley (1703-1791), Anglican clergyman, theologian and leader of the Methodist movement (Notes on the New Testament)
• Hendrik (Arnold) Wergeland (1808-1845), Norwegian poet (Skabelsen, Mennesket og Messias, "Creation, Humanity, and Messias"; Den Engelske Lods, "The English Pilot"; Jøden, "The Jew")
• Susan Laflesche Picotte (1865-1915), Native American physician and public health expert
• Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (1882-1971), Russian composer and author (The Firebird; Petrushka; The Rite of Spring)
• Sammy Fain (1902-1989), American composer and Academy Award winner for Secret Love and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
• Anna Marion Hilliard (1902-1958), Canadian physician who helped devise a simplified Pap test (A Woman Doctor Looks at Love and Life)
• Popeye debuts in comic strip Thimble Theater, 1929
• Mohamed Elbaradei (b. 1942), Egyptian 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for efforts to ensure that nuclear energy is used safely and for peaceful purposes only.