October 15

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Mata Hari executed, 1917
American Revolution
British retreat from Middleburgh, 1780
Automotive
"Funeral coaches" exempted from car-seat law, 2004
Civil War
Confederate submarine sinks during tests, 1863
Cold War
Mikhail Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize, 1990
Crime
A murderous husband is executed, 1948
Disaster
Hurricane Hazel hits the Carolinas and Ontario, 1954
General Interest
Vichy leader executed for treason, 1945
Gretzky breaks scoring record, 1989
Thomas confirmed to the Supreme Court, 1991
Hollywood
Drew Carey debuts as new host of The Price is Right, 2007
Literary
P.G. Wodehouse is born, 1881
Moneyball author Michael Lewis is born, 1960
Music
Duke Ellington records his first big hit, "Mood Indigo", 1930
Old West
Chiricahua Apache leader Victorio is killed south of El Paso, Texas, 1880
Presidential
Gerald Ford marries Elizabeth Bloomer, 1948
Sports
Wayne Gretzky breaks NHL points record, 1989
Vietnam War
First draft card burned, 1965
Operation Attleboro continues in Tay Ninh Province, 1966
National Moratorium demonstrations held across the United States, 1969
World War I
Mata Hari is executed, 1917
World War II
Herman Goering dies, 1946

Literary

Oct 15, 1960:

Moneyball author Michael Lewis is born

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On this day in 1960, Michael Lewis, author of such nonfiction best-sellers as “Moneyball” and “The Blind Side,” is born in New Orleans.

Lewis studied art history at Princeton University, graduating in 1982, and earned a degree from the London School of Economics. He went on to work as a junior bond salesman for Salomon Brothers, a New York City investment bank. After several years, Lewis left to chronicle this experience in his first book, “Liar’s Poker.” Published in 1989, “Liar’s Poker,” which painted an unflattering portrait of 1980s Wall Street culture, was a best-seller.

Lewis became a full-time journalist, going on to pen more than a dozen nonfiction books and numerous magazine articles, with business and sports serving as his frequent subject matter. He earned a reputation for taking complex topics, particularly those involving the financial industry, and making them easier-to-understand, character-driven narratives. His books include “Next: The Future Just Happened” (2001), about the Internet boom, “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine” (2010), about the 2007-2008 American economic crash and “Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World" (2011), about the global financial crisis in the first decade of the 21st century.

Among Lewis’ most well-known books is “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” (2003), which tells the story of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, who despite having the smallest payroll in Major League Baseball built a winning record, in part through the use of statistical analysis. According to New York magazine: “The book, which sold over a million copies, changed the way baseball was played, made ‘Moneyball’ a shorthand term for data-driven innovation in any field, and turned Beane himself into a savant legend well outside of baseball circles.” Brad Pitt played Beane in a 2011 big-screen adaptation of Lewis’s book.

Another Lewis best-seller, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” (2006), features the real-life tale of a well-off, white family in Memphis, Tennessee, the Tuohys, who took in a homeless African-American teen, Michael Oher, who later became a professional football player. Sandra Bullock starred in a movie adaptation of “The Blind Side” that debuted in 2009. Many of the people spotlighted in Lewis’ books have gone from obscurity to fame as a result of Lewis writing about them. The Tuohys and Michael Oher each have produced books of their own.

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This Week in History, Oct 15 - Oct 21

Oct 15, 1881
P.G. Wodehouse is born
Oct 15, 1960
Moneyball author Michael Lewis is born
Oct 16, 1854
Oscar Wilde's birthday
Oct 17, 1903
Nathanael West is born
Oct 18, 1951
Terry McMillan is born
Oct 19, 1931
John le Carre is born
Oct 20, 1853
French poet Arthur Rimbaud is born
Oct 21, 1772
Samuel Taylor Coleridge is born

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