The novelist and poet was also the sister to Emily Bronte who penned Wuthering Heights, and Anne who also wrote with her sisters from early childhood. When Charlotte was 30, the trio self-financed the publication of their first book, a joint collection of poems. They used fictitious names, to hide the fact that they were women, which would surely be used against them by critics. (See books by Bronte at Amazon.com)

And, on this day in 1838, John Muir, the naturalist and conservationist known as the “Father of the National Park,” was born. The influential Scottish-American glaciologist and author who was read by millions wrote about nature and his adventures in the Sierra Nevada and his beloved Yosemite. His activism helped to preserve that valley, along with Sequoia National Park and many other wilderness areas. He also co-founded the Sierra Club, which continues his environmental efforts to this day. WATCH a video…

And, on this day in 1649, in the new American colony of Maryland, the Toleration Act was passed by the Assembly to allow freedom of worship throughout the state. It protected Catholics against Protestant harassment, which had been on the rise since Oliver Cromwell’s power in England increased. It was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British colonies (following Rhode Island) and a pioneering statute on the topic of protecting Catholic settlers and those of other religions that did not conform to the dominant Anglicanism of Britain. The Calvert family, who founded Maryland partly as a refuge for English Catholics, sought the enactment of the law.

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