1794 – William Cullen Bryant, one of America’s literary greats, was born in Cummington, Massachusetts. He is remembered chiefly for his poetry, especially “Thanatopsis.” He never graduated from college but read the law in several offices and was admitted to the bar in 1815. For nearly 50 years, Bryant edited the New York Evening Post. He was a member of the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York City.