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Calling someone the "most influential" limits talk of the many who worked for change. These women, with other women and men, influenced change: Harriet Tubman Ida B. Wells Jane Addams Frances Perkins Margaret Sanger Rosa Parks Betty Friedan Toni Morrison Gloria Steinem Angela Davis Kate Millett

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This is the way. It's a near certainty that there are lots of other people who see that flag and feel similarly but haven't put it into words.

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The first printing of "Jane Eyre" sold out in less than three months. For nearly 180 years, it has never been out of print.

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About 50 years after Mary Wollstonecraft published her groundbreaking book "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," the character Jane Eyre gave readers a woman ready to fight for those rights.

In addition to all that, Bronte gave voice to Jane Eyre’s inner thoughts. Readers were shocked to peer into a woman’s psyche and see her longing for autonomy – and her insistence on being seen and treated as an independent human being.

It owes some of its success to the failure of Bronte’s first manuscript, "The Professor." That work was rejected by every publisher Bronte approached. But she did get some valuable feedback: make it longer, more dramatic, and give readers a tumultuous story of a tortured hero.

On this day in 1847, Charlotte Bronte’s landmark novel "Jane Eyre" was first published. The book has always been immensely popular. 🧵 #BookSky #WriterSky #Rights #Women #BookHistory #OTD

"Jane Eyre" First Edition
Source: Abe Books (website)

A painted portrait of Charlotte Bronte, circa 1834
Artist: Branwell Bronte
Source: Wikimedia Commons

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In 1923, she opened the Birth Control Clinical Research Bureau, which complied with court rulings and other legal reforms that allowed family planning clinics to operate in New York City. Nearly 20 years later, Sanger’s clinics changed their name to Planned Parenthood.

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Sanger’s clinic was only open 10 days before police shut it down for violating the Comstock Act. That clinic never re-opened. Legal battles raged for years over family planning clinics, but Sanger eventually won.

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Another big reason for opening her family planning clinic: Sanger wanted to challenge the U.S. Comstock Act. This law classified birth control information as illegal and obscene. Healthcare workers couldn’t even talk about birth control, much less make it available.

Working as a nurse, Sanger came to believe that birth control was essential to women’s health – because it gave women control over their own bodies. Importantly, Sanger also saw that women who exercised that control were also healthier overall and had more financial independence.

At the time, Sanger was a nurse in New York City – and she saw many women – especially poor women – suffer and die – either from repeated pregnancies or illegal abortions. It’s an issue that traumatized her family. When Sanger was 19, her mother died after 18 pregnancies and 11 live births.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

On this day in 1916, Margaret Sanger opened the first family planning clinic in the U.S. It was – and in many ways still is – one of the most groundbreaking moments in the long struggle for equal rights for women. 🧵 #Healthcare #Contraception #Abortion #Comstock #OTD

The first family planning clinic in the US opened on October 16, 1916
(It's the storefront with white curtains in the windows)
Photo: Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Source: PBS

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Patterson served as editor at some of the top papers in the U.S., including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the St. Petersburg Times, and the Washington Post. He won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing in 1967. He was later named the president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

American journalist Eugene Patterson was born on this day in 1923. From humble beginnings, he served in the U.S. Army as a tank commander in WWII and found his way to newspapers after leaving the service in 1947. 🧵 #WriterSky #Journo #Pulitzer #Editorial #History #BOTD

Eugene C. Patterson, 1984
Photo: The Tampa Bay Times, via Associated Press
Source: The New York Times

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

His stories of combat, communism, and travel made him a writer’s writer, beloved in Europe and America. His writing has been recognized with countless awards.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

He was a gifted writer, who held firm to his principles. He despised Mussolini and fascism and, at his mother’s suggestion, joined the resistance. Calvino’s life became punctuated with extraordinary events, and, after WWII, he wrote about them.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

“Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.” -Italian writer Italo Calvino, born on this day in 1923 🧵 #WriterSky #BookSky #History

Italo Calvino (undated image)
Source: Penguin Books

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Puzo also adapted the books into screenplays for the popular Godfather movies, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

He wrote about organized crime, most famously in "The Godfather." Published in 1969, the book was on the bestseller list for more than a year and in its first two years on the shelves sold more than nine million copies.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

“Italians have a little joke, that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that's why they have godfathers.” -American writer Mario Puzo, born on this day in 1920 🧵 #WriterSky #BookSky #Godfather #History #BOTD

Mario Puzo (undated photo)
Photo: CSU Archives / Everett Collection / Alamy Stock Photo
Source: U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Wodehouse also created the Blandings Castle and Psmith series, all with the same light touch of wit and humor. The English writer Evelyn Waugh wrote “Mr. Wodehouse’s idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own.”

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

He gave us the character Bertie Wooster, the very British and privileged young man about town who was not, as Bertie himself might say, overburdened with intellect. Fortunately, Wodehouse paired him with the consummate valet Jeeves, who repeatedly helped Bertie avoid matrimony and other troubles.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

“One prefers, of course, on all occasions to be stainless and above reproach, but, failing that, the next best thing is unquestionably to have got rid of the body.” -English novelist and humorist, Pelham Grenville "P. G." Wodehouse 🧵 #WriterSky #BookSky #Bertie #Jeeves #Aunts #History #BOTD

P. G. Wodehouse, 1904
Source: Reader's Digest

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

Some discrepancies between catholic, protestant, and eastern orthodox religious holidays each year are due to when countries switched to the Gregorian calendar.

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

So, in 1582, October 4th on the Julian calendar, was followed by October 15th on the Gregorian calendar. Some countries did not make the switch until the 20th Century. And a few – like Iran and Afghanistan – still haven’t.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 15/10/2026

On this day in 1582, the calendar changed with 10 leap days. Up to that point, the Julian Calendar was, for the most part, the global norm, but the year it calculated was too long. After centuries of use, solstices and holidays and even seasons came at the wrong time. 🧵 #Counting #Days #History

Lunario Novo, 1582 - one of the first printed editions of the new Gregorian calendar
Source: Wikipedia

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Reposted by The Story of Writing

Gabby @gabbydp.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I think I post this every 6 months…. By Laura Jean Truman

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

American singer-songwriter Usher was born on this day in 1978. He has changed Rhythm & Blues, made it bigger, and re-introduced it to the dance floor. Globally, he’s sold more than 80 million albums and has become an active philanthropist, focusing on health, kids, creativity, and human rights.

Usher, 2023
Photo: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images
Source: People Magazine

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

New Zealand novelist Katherine Mansfield was born on this day in 1888. She experimented with style, writing stories in pieces – not in a linear way. She felt this better expressed her characters’ psyches. This helped re-shape literary modernism. #WriterSky #BookSky #History #BOTD

Katherine Mansfield, 1914
Photo: © photos.com/Getty Images
Source: Britannica

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

On October 14th, 1964, American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Junior was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The chairman of the Nobel Committee praised him for being “the first person in the Western world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence.” #Civil #Rights #OTD

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr holding his Nobel Peace Prize, just awarded to him in Oslo, Norway on October 14, 1964
Photo: New York Herald Tribune, European Edition, Oct. 15, 1964
Source: African American Registry (website)

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard's "Winnie-the-Pooh" is 100 years old today. It was first published on October 14, 1926. Link to NPR interview with Annette Bay Pimentel, who wrote, "How a Bear Became a Book" www.npr.org/transcripts/...

npr.org

In which 'Winnie-the-Pooh' turns 100

In 1926, author A.A. Milne and illustrator Ernest H. Shepard published Winnie-the-Pooh. Now, a new kids' book — How a Bear Became a Book — celebrates their collaboration.

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Just to be clear, Kim Gargoyle wasn't forced out of her ambassador role because of her grift. She was forced out for getting caught. The next person in that role will almost certainly be as craven, corrupt, and inept. But they'll be told to be more discreet.

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

The film would be developed into prints that were mailed back to the customer along with a freshly loaded Kodak camera that could take 100 more pictures. By 1915, the company was making more than 15 million dollars a year. When Eastman died in 1932, his estate was worth around 100 million dollars.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Eastman's invention made photography more accessible - and convenient - to people in the late 1800s. He made it simple for anyone to walk into a store, buy a Kodak camera loaded with enough film to take 100 pictures. After doing that, the photographer could mail the film to Eastman’s company.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

On this day in 1884, the U.S. government issued a patent to George Eastman for his paper strip photographic film. The film came first. After that, Eastman developed and patented the Kodak camera that used the film. The combination changed photography. 🧵 #Inventor #History #OTD

The patent for paper strip photographic film, issued to George Eastman
Source: My Patent Prints (.com)

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

The Story of Writing podcast rules: -Talk about writers and writing that changed things for the better -Focus on people and their pursuit of happiness and justice -Encourage reading -Respect short attention spans -Find joy and share it #WriterSky #BookSky #OTD #Novels #Poetry storyofwriting.com

storyofwriting.com

Story of Writing

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Happy 85th birthday to Paul Simon! The guy knows how to write songs, that also become elegies:

I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
But it’s all right, it’s all right
We lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
We’re traveling on
I wonder what went wrong

Paul Simon, "American Tune," 1973

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

On his 1987 album Graceland, his sound grew to include African melodies and other influences. Simon’s 1990 release Rhythm of the Saints reflected South American musical styles. He has talked about retiring but he hasn’t stopped writing or playing.

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

On this day in 1941, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Simon was born at the right time. With Art Garfunkel in the 60s and 70s and then on his own, Simon’s music and lyrics worked their way into the lives of listeners everywhere. 🧵 #MusicSky #Bridge #Boxer #Graceland #Rhythm #BOTD

Paul Simon, on stage, playing electric guitar
Photo: undated | Photofest
Source: Rolling Stone Magazine

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

In 1943, he earned his master’s degree in library science and was appointed head librarian at Nashville’s Fisk University, where he developed collections of African-American literature and culture, including the Langston Hughes Renaissance Collection.

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The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

Children’s stories followed, written in collaboration with Langston Hughes. Bontemps was a prolific writer, focusing on Black history and the Black experience in America. But he found it impossible to make a living and support his family as a writer.

The Story of Writing @sownow.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

He met the woman who would become his wife and mother of their six children; and it was where he met W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and other contributors to the Harlem Renaissance. His poetry was published by literary magazines.