Great moments in history and popular culture happen every day, and ON THIS DAY will share a few of them with you. We’ll also point you to related resources in our collection, helping you to discover classic films, musical favorites, and historical tidbits. The primary focus will be on our e-material – e-books, e-audio, and downloadable and streamable music and film – but physical books and DVDs will also be part of the fun.

	On this day in 1731, Martha Washington was born. Washington was a wealthy young widow when she married George Washington in 1759, and had been successfully managing several plantations since the death of her first husband. After the Revolutionary War, Martha objected to her husband's accepting the position of President, and refused to attend his inauguration in 1789; once he had taken the job, however, she was admired as a gracious hostess of state events at the presidential residences in New York and Philadelphia. Flora Fraser's The Washingtons is a dual biography of George and Martha, following them through their 40-year marriage; it's available as an e-book from OverDrive, or in print.
	On this day in 1840, Thomas Hardy was born. Several of Hardy's early novels appeared originally in magazines, in serial form; the term "cliffhanger" derives from one of Hardy's serials, in which an installment ends with a character literally hanging from a cliff. Many of Hardy's novels were considered shocking by Victorian readers for their treatment of sex, love, and religion; and for their suggestion that contemporary morality was so restrictive as to cause great unhappiness for many. Hardy's first major success was Far From the Madding Crowd, a story of love and betrayal in a small farming village; it's available as an e-book or e-audio from OverDrive, or in print.
	And on this day in 1835, P. T. Barnum began a tour of the United States with his variety troupe, "Barnum's Grand Scientific and Musical Theater," a precursor to his later success in the traveling circus business. Dean Jensen's Queen of the Air tells the true story of tragic romance between two trapeze performers at the Barnum and Bailey Circus in the early 20th century; it's available as an e-book from OverDrive, or in print.