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 1890, Agatha Christie was born. Christie created or popularized many of the common features of the modern murder mystery -- multiple suspects, a detective uncovering their secrets, the final scene in which the detective gathers everyone together to reveal the culprit. Her most enduring character is Hercule Poirot, who appeared in 33 novels. He was the only fictional character ever to have an obituary published in The New York Times, after the publication of the final Poirot novel, Curtain, in 1975. Christie had written the book during World War II, and kept it in a vault for 30 years, until she knew that she would be writing no more Poirot stories. Curtain is available as an e-book or e-audio from OverDrive, and in print.
	On this day in 1894, Jean Renoir was born. The French director made several landmark films in the 1930s, including Boudu Saved From Drowning, Grand Illusion, and Rules of the Game. His films had enough of a political edge that he left France during World War II, spending the decade in Hollywood, where he made a dozen films. While his Hollywood films are not the acknowledged masterpieces that his French films are, he was nominated for an Academy Award for directing The Southerner, a drama about sharecroppers in Texas. The Southerner is available for streaming at Hoopla.
	And on this day in 1924, Bobby Short was born. The cabaret singer and pianist specialized in the "Great American Songbook," those standards written in the first half of the 20th century. Short was among the first to make the case for including the work of African-American songwriters such as Fats Waller and Billy Strayhorn in that repertoire, which he did by simply performing their songs alongside those of Gershwin, Porter, and Kern. His 1958 album Sing Me a Swing Song is available for streaming or download at Freegal.