Jonathan Swift was born today in 1667; Mark Twain in 1835; and Winston Churchill in 1874.
Lucy Maud Montgomery was born the exact same day as Churchill (well, unless the time difference interfered). Some nice quotes for you from Anne books...
"Oh, there is something today that makes me just love everybody I see. You don't know how good I feel! Wouldn't it be nice if it could last? I believe I could be a model child if I were just invited out to tea every day."
and on imaginations...
"I said, 'Mary Joe, do you know what I think? I think the evening star is a lighthouse on the land where the fairies dwell.' And Mary Joe said there was no such thing as fairies. Of course I knew there are no fairies; but that needn't prevent my thinking there is. Then I said, 'Well then, I think an angel walks over the world after the sun sets...and sings the flowers and birds to sleep.' Then Mary Joe looked scared. I went out then and whispered the rest of my thoughts to the garden....Do you know what I think about the new moon, teacher? I think it is a little golden boat full of dreams, and when it tips on a cloud some of them spill out and fall into your sleep. And I think the violets are little snips of the sky that fell down when the angels cut out holes for the stars to shine through. And the buttercups are made out of old sunshine..."
and, lastly, my favorite, "award-winning" part of this bunch...
"I always like to look on the bright side, Eliza."
"There isn't any bright side."
"Oh, indeed there is," cried Anne, who couldn't endure such heresy in silence. "Why, there are ever so many bright sides, Miss Andrews. It's really a beautiful world."
"It's best to be prepared for the worst."
"But oughtn't we to be prepared for the best too?" pleaded Anne. "It's just as likely to happen as the worst."
The luncheon suggestion for today from 365 Luncheon Dishes (from 1902) is Eggs in Tomato Cases: You spoon out fresh tomatoes and sprinkle with tarragon, salt and pepper; then drop in an egg and butter; bake until set.