14 April 1939. The classic novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was 1st published in the USA. It’s set in the Great Depression, focusing on the poor Joad farming family struggling with economic hardship. The novel helped Steinbeck to win the Nobel Prize in 1962. pic.twitter.com/WAPZ1l2lJ6

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 14, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1986, existentialist philosopher, feminist, social theorist, author (The Second Sex, She Came to Stay, The Mandarins, Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée), Simone de Beauvoir died; pneumonia in Paris, aged 78. Cimetière du Montparnasse, Paris https://t.co/qEs2gLwshm pic.twitter.com/ZxLQCbEeTD

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 14, 2024

15 April 1755. A Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson was published in London. Johnson’s Dictionary is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. Johnson took 7 years to complete it. pic.twitter.com/pcYbWDe8Dj

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 15, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1927, journalist and author (Le Fantôme de l’Opéra (The Phantom of the Opera)) Gaston Leroux died in Nice, France at the age of 58. Cimetiére du Château, Nice https://t.co/xfVmWmgVlT pic.twitter.com/gz4jmmoikH

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 15, 2024

15 April 1929. Children’s author James Barrie donated his book copyright for Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children in London. It has provided huge extra funding for the hospital. pic.twitter.com/PvhkRsITME

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 15, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1980, philosopher, playwright (No Exit), novelist (La Nausée) , screenwriter (The Crucible), political activist, biographer, literary critic, Jean-Paul Sartre died from pulmonary edema in Paris, aged 74. Cimetière de Montparnasse, Paris https://t.co/xfVmWmgVlT pic.twitter.com/8smo974k85

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 15, 2024

15 April 1993. Best selling author Leslie Charteris (left),died (aged 85). He’s best known as the author of a series of books featuring Simon Templar (“The Saint”), which became a successful TV series in the 1960s with Roger Moore playing Templar (right). pic.twitter.com/iDBtJYgFPP

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 15, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1968, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist (So Big, Show Boat, Cimarron, Giant), short story writer, playwright, member of the Algonquin Round Table, Edna Ferber died from stomach cancer at her home New York City at the age of 82. Cremation https://t.co/lG2blHmV1Z pic.twitter.com/yphGe6i5XL

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 16, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1994 novelist (Invisible Man), literary critic and scholar Ralph Ellison died from pancreatic cancer in New York City at the age of 81. Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan https://t.co/lG2blHmV1Z pic.twitter.com/iBwTJGHVqC

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 16, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 2014 novelist (One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera), short-story writer, screenwriter, journalist, Gabo, Gabriel García Marquez died; pneumonia; Mexico City, aged 87. Cremated remains; La Merced monastery in Cartagena https://t.co/nbPK1R9BXp pic.twitter.com/AsulKCWqsW

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 17, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1824, Romantic poet (Don Juan, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Hebrew Melodies), Lord Byron died in Missolonghi, Aetolia-Acarnania, Ottoman Empire (Greece), aged 36. Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, England https://t.co/b2bw8cN6ku pic.twitter.com/1UJZZFIkcl

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 19, 2024

19 April 1882. Charles Darwin, who developed the theory of evolution, in his landmark book, The Origin of the Species, died (aged 73), at his home in Kent. pic.twitter.com/FWRN2JxOAr

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 19, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1989 author (novels; Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel, Jamaica Inn, short story; The Birds), playwright Daphne du Maurier died, aged 81, at her home in Cornwall. Cremation. Cremated remains scattered off the cliffs at Fowey, Kilmarth, Cornwall https://t.co/b2bw8cN6ku pic.twitter.com/0AOmQRW66l

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 19, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1998 poet (Piedra de Sol, essay El laberinto de la soledad), diplomat Octavio Paz died of cancer in Mexico City, aged 84. Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Centro, Cuauhtémoc Borough, Distrito Federal, Mexico https://t.co/b2bw8cN6ku pic.twitter.com/Dh87WNKo8d

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 19, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1912, novelist (Dracula) and short story writer (Dracula’s Guest), Bram Stoker died at No. 26 St. George’s Square in Pimlico, London at the age of 64. Cremation. Cremated remains were placed in an urn at Golders Green Crematorium, London https://t.co/IriMHU4do2 pic.twitter.com/IkBl0jDL9t

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 20, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1699 dramatist (Phèdre, Andromaque, Athalie), one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, (Molière & Corneille), Jean Racine died from liver cancer in Paris, aged 59. Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church in Paris https://t.co/RDTQix6OtK pic.twitter.com/BmcWonDsKH

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 21, 2024

21 April 1816. Charlotte Brontë was born in Thornton, Yorkshire. She was the eldest of the 3 Brontë sisters, whose novels became classics of English literature. Charlotte’s 4 completed novels were: Jane Eyre, her most famous novel, Shirley, Villette, and The Professor. pic.twitter.com/M0YrA8GSxP

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 21, 2024

21 April 1864. Pioneering Sociologist Max Weber was born in Erfurt, Germany. He’s regarded as one of the most important theorists on the development of modern Western society and is often cited as one of the 4 founders of sociology, alongside Du Bois, Durkheim and Marx. pic.twitter.com/FnCPW6FPui

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 21, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1910, author (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court), humorist, Mark Twain died of a heart attack in Redding, Connecticut, aged 74. Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York https://t.co/RDTQix6OtK pic.twitter.com/7IjOCP0oSn

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) April 21, 2024