August 15

On the 15th in 1877, inventor Thomas Alva Edison made the first audio recording. The recording was of Edison reading the poem Mary Had a Little Lamb, which had been written by Sara Hale and was first published on May 24, 1830.

Sara Hale self-published her poetry in 1823. The book was titled The Gift of Oblivion. In her career, she would go on to publish more than 45 volumes of her work. She was the editor of Godey's Lady's Book for 40 of that publication’s 68-year life.