Thanks for joining me for another episode of Today in History. I’m Sen, your host.

As usual, you’re going to hear today’s historical events twice.

This first time through, don’t worry about understanding individual words and phrases. Imagine you’re listening to a piece of music. This is a great way to train your English listening skills. And, you’ll probably still find that you pick up some of the general meaning anyway.

So, what happened on this day in history?

On July 7, 1864, Isabelo de los Reyes was born in Vigan City, in the Philippines. He was a writer, activist and politician among other things. Through his socialist work, he had a large influence on Philippine society, in particular while under Spanish colonial rule.

On the same day in 1915, African-American poet and novelist Margaret Walker was born in Alabama in the United States. She is best known for her 1942 book of poetry called “For My People”, which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition. She was the first Black woman to win a national writing prize in the U.S. Later on, she also joined the Black Chicago Renaissance, a creative movement of African American artists living in the city.

On July 7, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court. She served for 25 years, and in 2009 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s greatest civilian honor.

Now for the second listen. This time, focus more on the meaning.

On July 7, 1864, Isabelo de los Reyes was born in Vigan City, in the Philippines. He was a writer, activist and politician among other things. Through his socialist work, he had a large influence on Philippine society, in particular while under Spanish colonial rule.

On the same day in 1915, African-American poet and novelist Margaret Walker was born in Alabama in the United States. She is best known for her 1942 book of poetry called “For My People”, which won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition. She was the first Black woman to win a national writing prize in the U.S. Later on, she also joined the Black Chicago Renaissance, a creative movement of African American artists living in the city.

On July 7, 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court. She served for 25 years, and in 2009 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s greatest civilian honor.

There were some pretty difficult words in today’s episode. You might have heard the word ‘socialist’ before. It relates to ‘socialism’, the economic and political system which gives the power to the workers. And how about ‘civilian’? Well, a ‘civilian’ is someone who isn’t a member of the armed forces or police. So, here, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is the greatest achievement, or ‘honor’, given to someone from the U.S. who isn’t in the army. Remember, you can always rewind and have another listen.

So, that’s it for today. But if you’re interested in more historical facts, then be sure to check out tomorrow’s episode of Today in History.

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Episode notes:

socialist: relating to ‘socialism’; the economic and political system which gives the power to the workers
civilian: someone who isn’t a member of the armed forces or police