Nov. 1 is National Author’s Day! One well-known author and playwright from Illinois is Lorraine Vivian Hansberry. Hansberry was born in 1930 in Chicago to Carl Augustus Hansberry, a successful real estate broker, and Nannie Louise Perry, a driving school teacher and ward committeewoman.

From a young age, Hansberry and her family were involved in the Black community and the fight for civil rights. The Hansberrys received regular visits from people like activist W.E.B. Du Bois, poet Langston Hughes and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens.

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Did you know, that National Cat Day, celebrated on Oct. 29 each year, was created to raise awareness of the number of adoptable cats in need of loving homes. If you’re looking to adopt, start at a local shelter or sanctuary, like Forever Home Feline Ranch (FHFR) in Springfield.

FHFR is a nonprofit organization focused on rescuing unwanted and homeless cats and kittens. The organization aims to give every cat possible a second chance at life, either in their sanctuary or in their new forever home. At FHFR, the cats are housed in an open environment where cages are not used. FHFR does not euthanize any cats housed in their shelter, and they hope to one day turn Central Illinois into a no kill-community.

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The earliest description of what is now often called a cupcake was in 1796, when a recipe for "a light cake to bake in small cups" was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. The earliest documentation of the term cupcake itself appeared in 1828 in Seventy-five Reciepts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, a cookbook by Eliza Leslie.

Enjoy a sweet treat today on National Chocolate Cupcake Day! Make some at home using your favorite recipe, or check out one here.

If baking isn’t your thing, support a local bakery to get a fix for your sweet tooth! 

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On this week in 1928 that Larry Simon Gelbart, the American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as the creator and producer of the television series M*A*S*H, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Larry Gelbart would grow up in Chicago and Los Angeles before he was drafted for World War II. After returning, he would work for Armed Forces Radio Service in LA, eventually obtaining the rank of Sergeant before being honorably discharged after serving 1 year and 11 days, just short of the beginning of the Korean War.

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Did you know 114 years ago the Famous American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh was born in Streator, Ill. on Feb. 4th 1906?

Tombaugh was the first astronomer to discover what was identified as the Kuiper Belt, but more specifically he was the man accredited to the discovery of the dwarf planet Pluto. The son of a farmer, Tombaugh’s plans for attending college were stifled by a hailstorm ruining his family farm at a young age. He started to build his own telescopes with lenses and mirrors, drawing images of Jupiter and Mars to the Lowell Observatory which offered him a job.

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