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August 1896 cover of The Black Cat

The Black Cat was an American fiction magazine launched in 1895 by Herman Umbstaetter. It published only short stories, and was known for originality and for promoting new writers. It was quickly successful, aided by the popularity of "The Mysterious Card", by Cleveland Moffett, which appeared in an early issue, selling out two print runs. Two of its best-known contributors were Jack London, whose 1899 story "A Thousand Deaths" sold just as he was about to give up attempting to become a writer, and Henry Miller, whose first published works were several short fiction critiques published in 1919. The magazine's ownership changed in 1912 and 1919 as its circulation declined, and it initially ceased publication in 1920. It was revived in 1922 by William Kane, but in early 1923, with estimated circulation down to only 15,000, it ceased publication for good. The magazine's icon, a black cat that appeared on almost every cover (example pictured), was drawn by the founder's wife, Nelly Umbstaetter. (Full article...)

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In the news

Fran Drescher

Flooding and landslides in South Korea leave at least 40 people dead and 9 others missing.
In the United States, actors in the SAG-AFTRA trade union (president Fran Drescher pictured) go on strike, joining writers in the Writers Guild of America strike.
Flooding and landslides in northern India leave at least 100 people dead.
Czech-French writer Milan Kundera dies at the age of 94.

On this day

July 18

54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry storming Fort Wagner

1290 – King Edward I issued an edict to expel all Jews from England.
1723 – Johann Sebastian Bach directed the first performance of his cantata Erforsche mich, Gott, und erfahre mein Herz in Leipzig.
1863 – American Civil War: Led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the first African-American military units in the Union Army, spearheaded an assault (pictured) on Fort Wagner, South Carolina.
1949 – Francisco Javier Arana, the chief of the Guatemalan armed forces, was killed in a shootout with supporters of President Juan José Arévalo.
2019 – An arson attack at the studio of Kyoto Animation in Japan led to the deaths of 36 people.

Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat (d. 924)
Lucy Smith Millikin (b. 1821)
Nelson Mandela (b. 1918)
Amy Gillett (d. 2005)

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Today's featured picture

Henri Becquerel (1852–1908) was a French engineer and physicist who was the first person to discover evidence of radioactivity. Born in Paris into a family that also included the engineers Antoine César Becquerel, Edmond Becquerel and Jean Becquerel, he studied engineering at the École polytechnique and the École nationale des ponts et chaussées, going on to take up positions at the National Museum of Natural History and the French government's Department of Roads and Bridges, before being appointed as a professor at the École polytechnique. For his work in the field of radioactivity he received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics, alongside Marie Curie and Pierre Curie. The SI derived unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), is named after him. This portrait of Becquerel is an albumen paper print from a glass negative taken by Paul Nadar.

Photograph credit: Paul Nadar; restored by Adam Cuerden

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