Welcome to ON THIS DAY! Each day, we'll look at a few moments from history and popular culture. We'll show you where you can rediscover classic movies and music, or read more about great moments in history. We'll point you to e-books, downloadable and streamable music and film, and e-audio; and of course, we haven't forgotten about physical books or DVDs.

	On this day in 1873, W. C. Handy was born. Handy began directing bands as a young man, and in his early 30s, he began writing songs inspired by the folk music of the southern towns where he lived. Songs such as "Memphis Blues" and "Beale Street Blues" became popular nationwide, and Handy became known as the "Father of the Blues". W. C. Handy's Memphis Blues Band collects some of his early recordings, made between 1917 and 1923; it's available for download or streaming at Freegal.
	On this day in 1922, Jose Saramago was born. The Portuguese author was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. Saramago's style is often experimental, with long sentences and paragraphs; he often uses commas in place of periods, and characters in one book may refer to characters or events from another. His scenarios are often tinged with fantasy, and contemporary urban isolation is a common theme. Saramago's 1995 novel Blindness tells of an unnamed country swept by a plague of blindness; it's available as an e-book or e-audio from OverDrive.
	And on this day in 1964, Diana Krall was born. The Canadian singer/pianist released her first album in 1993, and has been very successful with her mix of jazz standards and songs by composers not usually thought of as jazz musicians, such as Billy Joel and Bob Dylan. In recent years, she has begun to write her own songs, often in collaboration with her husband, Elvis Costello. Several of Krall's albums are available for streaming at Hoopla.