In the mood for a good movie? Some toe-tapping music? A thrilling book? ON THIS DAY will lead you to new possibilities every day, tied to interesting moments from history and popular culture. Whether it's streamable and downloadable music and film, e-books and e-audio, of physical books and DVDs, we hope you'll find something to enjoy as you pick up a few bits of history each day.

	On this day in 1882, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture was performed for the first time. The piece commemorates Russia's successful defense against the invasion of Napoleon's army, and is notable for its dramatic ending, which calls for sixteen cannon shots. Tchaikovsky himself conducted the overture in 1891 at the dedication of Carnegie Hall, and it is frequently performed to close the summer classical season at the Hollywood Bowl, often as the accompaniment to a fireworks show. The 1812 Overture and other works by Tchaikovsky are conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy on this recording, available for streaming at Hoopla.
	On this day in 1890, H. P. Lovecraft was born. His horror stories were only published in the pulp magazines during his lifetime, and he died in poverty. But his stories have proved to be greatly influential on later generations of horror writers; Stephen King says that Lovecraft is the single greatest inflluence on his own writing. Lovecraft's tales feature horrifying creatures and the humans who serve them, dark and forbidden knowledge, and a fear that we have put too much confidence in the ability of science to explain the universe. Many of Lovecraft's best stories are collected in Necronomicon, available as an e-book from OverDrive.
	And on this day in 1942, Isaac Hayes was born. He began as a songwriter, creating R&B classics like "Soul Man" and "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby." He began recording his own albums in the late 1960s. Hayes' early work was marked by transforming 3-minute pop songs into extended, fully orchestrated suites, such as his 19-minute version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." His album Love Attack is available for streaming or download at Freegal.