Top 10 Birthdays

10. March 18, 1932: John Updike.  He began writing for  The New Yorker  magazine in 1954. In 1960, he published Rabbit, Run, the 1st of what turned out to be 4 novels about Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, an ordinary salesman who appears to have peaked as a high school basketball star, but makes more of himself in the later novels. Updike  described his style as an attempt "to give the mundane its beautiful due." And yet, he may be best known for the line, "Gods do not answer letters," from his 1960  New Yorker  story about Ted Williams' last game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu." Honorable Mention: March 18, 1893: Wilfred Owen.  One of the finest producers of poetry to come out of the experience of serving in World War I, the British Lieutenant was killed in action just 7 days before the Armistice. 9. March 18, 1858: Rudolf Diesel.  Inventor of the Diesel engine. 8. March 18, 1951: Ben Cohen.  Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. 7. March 18, 19...

Somewhat Honorable Mention: March 14, 1863: Casey Jones.  Illinois Central Railroad engineer John Luther Jones was not the most honorable of men, and on the run that killed him on April 30, 1900 in Vaughan, Mississippi, he was reckless. But he still managed to save the lives of everyone on board his train, except for himself, and became a legend in literature and song. 10. March 14, 1920: Hank Ketcham.  He created the comic strip Dennis the Menace. 9. March 14, 1951: Jerry Greenfield. He and Ben Cohen founded Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Honorable Mention: March 14, 1887: Sylvia Beach.  She founded the bookstore chain Shakespeare and Company, and was a major supporter of writers who went on to become major novelists and poets. Dishonorable Mention: March 14, 1921: S. Truett Cathy.  He founded Chick-fil-A, but also put its bigoted policies into place. 8. March 14, 1958: Prince Albert II of Monaco.  The son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace Kelly, he follow...