Eddie Rickenbacker, famous U.S. aviator

It is the birthday of Eddie Rickenbacker (1890), one of the most celebrated aviators in American history. He became a World War I flying ace, shooting down some 26 German aircraft during the war. He also flew more combat hours than any other American pilot. Before the war, Rickenbacker earned the nickname Fast Eddie racing in the Indianapolis 500. During the 1930s, Rickenbacker established Eastern Airlines in Miami and built it into one of the leading commercial passenger carriers in the country.

Thomas Keneally wrote Schindler's Ark

It is the birthday of Australian writer Thomas Keneally (1935), who won the British Booker Prize for his novel Schindler's Ark (1982), based on the work of German industrialist Oskar Schindler saving the lives of 1,200 Jews from extermination during World War II. The book was adapted as Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), which was named best picture and received six other Oscars. Holocaust survivor Poldek Pfefferberg, who was saved by Schindler, inspired Keneally to write the book.

Happy birthday, adventurer Thor Heyerdahl

It is the birthday of Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl (1914), who sailed his raft Kon-Tiki 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Peru to the Polynesian islands to prove his theory that pre-Columbian people from South America could have settled the islands. Heyerdahl wrote a book about the 1947 adventure, and later an Academy Award-winning documentary film was made. The original raft is on display in Oslo.

Books by Caldecott winner Tasha Tudor

THIS JUST IN: We have accumulated a collection of books delightfully illustrated by the amazing Tasha Tudor, including the Mother Goose volume for which she received a Caldecott Honor in 1945. Her father was W. Starling Burgess, a noted naval architect. Her mother was the famed portrait painter Rosamund Tudor. She was originally named Starling Burgess, after her father but he was a big fan of War and Peace and elected to rename her Natasha. That was shortened to Tasha. As a child she was often introduced as Rosamund Tudor’s daughter Tasha, and people thought her last name was Tudor. She liked the sound of it and eventually had her name changed legally. To enquire about the Tasha Tudor books, please call (727) 822-3278.