May 12: Edward Lear

May 12: Edward Lear

May 12: Edward Lear On this day in 1812, the British artist, illustrator, and writer, Edward Lear was born. He is known for his nonsensical poetry and his limericks, a form which he popularized. In 1846 he published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks which went...
May 15: L. Frank Baum

May 15: L. Frank Baum

May 15: L. Frank Baum On this date in 1856, the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was born. Enjoy listening to free audiobooks of five titles in Baum’s Oz series. L. Frank Baum Banner Use this banner on social media to share our collection of free Wizard of...
May 16: Oregon Trail

May 16: Oregon Trail

May 16: Oregon Trail On this date in 1843, the first major wagon train with 1,000 pioneers set out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri. Previous pioneers had to make at least part of the journey by horse on on foot, but this group was large enough that they...
May 17: Edward Jenner

May 17: Edward Jenner

May 17: Edward Jenner On this date in 1749, Edward Jenner, “the father of immunology,” was born. Jenner’s pioneering work in developing the smallpox vaccine is claimed to have “saved more lives than the work of any other human.” Edward...
May 23: World Turtle Day

May 23: World Turtle Day

May 23: World Turtle Day World Turtle Day® was created in 2000 to celebrate and protect turtles and their disappearing habitats around the world. World Turtle Day Banner Use this banner on social media to share FCIT’s collection of teaching resources about...