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On this day in history, February 18, 1931, award-winning American author Toni Morrison is born in Ohio
American author and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison was born on this day in history, Feb. 18, 1931.
Morrison was born the second of four children in Lorain, Ohio, and was given the birth name Chloe Anthony Wofford, according to the National Women’s History Museum.
As a child, Morrison focused on her studies and became an avid reader.
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She was a member of her school’s debate team and yearbook staff and went on to become the head librarian at the Lorain Public Library.
Morrison converted to Catholicism at the age of 12 and was baptized under the name Anthony after Saint Anthony of Padua — taking the nickname Toni, the National Women’s History Museum reports.
Author Toni Morrison speaks at a Newsday book and author luncheon at the Huntington Town House in Huntington, New York, on Oct. 18, 1977. (J. Michael Dombroski/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
In 1949, Morrison moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Howard University, an historically Black college.
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Morrison frequently toured the then-racially segregated south with the university’s theatrical group called the Howard University Players.
Morrison graduated with her bachelor’s degree in English and furthered her education at Cornell University where she earned her Master of Arts degree in English.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison in New York City in 1979. (Jack Mitchell/Getty Images)
After graduating in 1955, Morrison went on to teach English at Texas Southern University, then returned to teach at Howard University.
Upon returning to her alma mater, Morrison taught civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael and met her husband, Harold Morrison.
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Morrison taught at Howard for seven years before accepting a job as an editor for textbooks at Random House publishing in Syracuse, New York.
Two years later, Morrison moved to the company’s New York City branch and began editing fiction and books written by Black authors.
Novelist Toni Morrison discusses her venture into playwriting in Albany, New York, on Dec. 23, 1985. (Getty Images)
Morrison published her first book, “The Bluest Eye,” at 39 years old in 1970.
This book was followed by her second novel, “Sula,” and her third, “Song of Solomon,” in 1977, which turned Morrison into a household name, according to the museum.
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In 1987, Morrison released her novel, “Beloved,” based on the true story of an enslaved woman.
This book was a bestseller for 25 consecutive weeks — and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Nobel laureate Toni Morrison (front, in black dress) accepts the applause of partygoers Susan Taylor, Rita Dove, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis, Maya Angelou and others in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Will And Deni McIntyre/Getty Images)
Morrison became the first Black woman to be presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993.
She was also honored with the National Book Foundation’s Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters three years later.
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“Beloved” was adapted into a film in 1998, starring major players like Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandiwe Newton and Kimberly Elise.
While continuing her writing career, Morrison worked as a professor in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University and wrote children’s books with her son.
U.S. author Toni Morrison smiles in her office at Princeton University in New Jersey, while being interviewed by reporters on Oct. 7, 1993. (DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Morrison received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Oxford, according to the museum, and was consistently praised for her work.
In 2000, the Library of Congress named Morrison a Living Legend, the National Women’s History Museum reports.
She also earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 — the same month she published her last book with her son.
Morrison died on Aug. 5, 2019, in New York after complications with pneumonia.
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A new Democrat has announced he’ll challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District in southeastern Wisconsin.
And while many national Democrats have been focused on flipping Wisconsin’s sharply competitive 3rd District, in the western part of the state, Milwaukee Alder Peter Burgelis said in his announcement Sunday that he thinks Steil’s district is flippable, too.
“We need a candidate who can get national attention, national money to counteract what Bryan Steil and his billionaire buddies are going to put in the race,” Burgelis said, announcing his bid on WISN-TV’s UpFront.
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Burgelis joins a crowded Democratic primary with no clear frontrunner, up against Steil, who has held the seat since 2019 and is a notedly successful fundraiser.
And the district has been in Republican hands for three decades, and notably held by former House Speaker Paul Ryan for 20 years.
But the district has changed shape since Steil first took office. In new congressional maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers as part of a redistricting lawsuit in 2022, the district became more competitive.
It lost parts of Milwaukee’s conservative suburbs in Waukesha County, and gained ground around Democratic-leaning Janesville and Beloit. Now, it covers Racine and Kenosha counties, most of Walworth County, part of Rock County and a sliver of southern Milwaukee County.
Burgelis stands out from the current crop of Democratic hopefuls, including union nurse Mitchell Berman and Racine ironworker Randy Bryce, in part because he has held elected office before.
Still, it’s a longshot for a Democrat to unseat Steil, said Anthony Chergosky, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
“It would take a very good year for Democrats, plus a lot of money and the right candidate with the right message to be able to defeat Congressman Steil,” said Chergosky.
The district is on the list of 44 Congressional seats nationwide being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a quest to flip the U.S. House this November. But according to the Cook Political Report, it leans Republican.
By comparison, the battle for western Wisconsin’s 3rd District is considered a toss-up — and has sparked the national fundraising numbers to match.
And according to Chergosky, Steil is a particularly strong candidate.
“He is an excellent campaigner. He has a full campaign war chest, and his approach to politics seems to resonate fairly well — or better, quite well — with the people in that region,” said Chergosky. “So if the bottom truly does fall out for Republicans, then I can imagine this district becoming competitive, but it would take a truly disastrous cycle for the GOP for Congressman Steil to be in serious jeopardy.”
Back in southeastern Wisconsin, Burgelis starts out with one big factor against him: he doesn’t currently live in the district. The Wisconsin Republican Party quickly seized on that fact Sunday, releasing a statement saying Burgelis will be more focused on Milwaukee than on 1st District constituents.
“Southeast Wisconsin can’t afford an out-of-district Milwaukee politician like Peter Burgelis,” stated WisGOP Spokesperson Anika Rickard. “He needs to decide who he wants to represent: the people of Milwaukee, where he lives and serves as alderman, or the hardworking families of the 1st District, where he has never lived.”
Burgelis responded to that critique, saying that his message of affordability will resonate anywhere.
“Voters don’t care where you live or what the driver’s license address is in my wallet. Voters care where you stand,” he said.
Burgelis has served on Milwaukee’s Common Council since 2024, and is the first openly LGBTQ+ alder. Before that, he was on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, during which time he was reportedly chastised for the way he treated female staffers.
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer details his experience at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on FOX 9’s All Day, from the first “distinct shots” to the moment he determined it was a “dangerous situation.”
INDIANAPOLIS (Gray News) – A woman died after falling about 50 feet from an outer curb at the Indianapolis International Airport, police confirmed.
Indianapolis Airport Police said the fall happened around 12:16 p.m. Saturday.
A security camera captured the woman falling from the outer curb of Upper Terminal Drive to a grassy area below. The fall was about 50 feet.
Several emergency departments responded, but after half an hour, she was pronounced dead by a doctor via telephone.
By Monday afternoon, police were still investigating. The woman’s identity has not yet been released.
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