Civil rights come into focus on this day in 1963. A Buddhist monk sets himself on fire to protest religious oppression in Vietnam, Alabama Governor George Wallace stands in a UA doorway to prevent two Black students from attending the University, and Pres. John F. Kennedy promises new civil rights legislation. NAACP activist Medgar Evers is assassinated. This episode includes a reading from "Medgar Evers: A Hero in Life and Death."

So-called "spectral evidence" is allowed in Massachusetts Bay Colony and result in the executions of the Salem Witch Trials. On this day, Howlin' Wolf and Saul Bellow were born on this day - with a reading from Bellow's "Herzog."

France and China sign the Treaty of Tientsin and the birthday club includes Cole Porter, Robert McNamara, and Jackie Wilson - with a reading from Porter's "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love."

The U.S. Bill of Rights takes shape, the Antiquities Act is passed, George Orwell's "1984" is published and it is the birthday of comedian Joan Rivers - with a reading from "1984."

Spain and Portugal carve up the New World in the Treaty of Tordesillas, the Petition of Right is passed in England, and American colonists say they should form an independent nation. The birthday club includes Gwendolyn Brooks and Louise Erdrich - with a reading from Brooks' "Maud Martha."

The Battle of Midway and D-Day are both tied to June 6th and we celebrate the birthdays of Alexander Pushkin, Angelo Moriando, and Thomas Mann - with a reading from Mann's "The Magic Mountain."

Harriet Beecher Stowe's landmark novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is first published, Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated, and "Tank Man" steps into history. It is the birthday Federico Garcia Lorca - with a reading from his "Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint."

The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment, the U.S. refuses to allow refugees fleeing the Nazis to enter the country, the evacuation of Dunkirk ends, and it is the birthday of King George III - with a reading from Winston Churchill's speech "We Shall Fight On the Beaches."