Literary Landmarks: Walden Pond   Henry David Thoreau lived at Walden Pond from July 1845 to September 1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment. Because of Thoreau's legacy, Walden Pond has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is considered the birthplace of the conservation movement. Park Interpreters provide tours and ongoing educational programs. The Reservation includes the 102-foot deep glacial kettle-hole pond. Mostly undeveloped woods totaling 2680 acres, called "Walden Woods," surround the reservation. The park preserves the original site of Thoreau's one-room cabin and has erected a replica of the cabin nearby. For more information click here: Walden or here for Books by Thoreau ,

Today's Birthdays:

• Elmer Ambrose Sperry (1860-1930), American electrical engineer and inventor of the Sperry gyrocompass
• Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), British occultist, mystic, sexual revolutionary (The Diary of a Drug Friend; Moonchild)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1892-1958), British composer
• Eugenio Montale (1896-1981), Italian poet, prose writer, editor, translator and recipient of 1975 Nobel Prize for literature.
• Gösta (Lars August) Knutsson (1908-1973), Swedish children's book writer (Pelle Svanslös; Nalle Lufs)
• Dick Gregory (b. 1932), African American comedian, civil rights activist, nutritionist
• Luciano Pavarotti (b. 1935), Italian-born operatic tenor