Joan Delano Aiken, English writer specializing in supernatural fiction and children’s alternative history novels, was born in Rye, East Sussex England on September 4, 1924. Aiken produced more than a hundred books, including more than a dozen collections of fantasy stories, plays and poems, and modern and historical novels for adults and children. Some of her books focus on spine-chilling or supernatural events, while other works, while others are are set in an elaborate alternative history of Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution, but supporters of the House of Hanover continually agitate against the monarchy.  Find the Wolves of Willoughby Chase at the library.

Syd Hoff, cartoonist and children’s book author and illustrastor, was born in the Bronx, NYC on September 4, 1912. His cartoons have appeared in a variety of publications including the New Yorker, Esquire, and Look magazine. He was also the host of a television show, Tales of Hoff, in which he drew and told stories. Hoff wrote and illustrated over 60 volumes in the HarperCollins “I Can Read” series for beginning readers, most notably Sammy the Seal and the popular Danny and the Dinosaur (1958). Find Danny and the Dinosaur at the library.

On September 4, 1886, Apache chief Geronimo surrenders to U.S. government troops. For 30 years, the mighty Native American warrior had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and hopelessly outnumbered. General Nelson Miles accepted Geronimo’s surrender, making him the last Indian warrior to formally give in to U.S. forces and signaling the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. Find Geronimo at the library.