He never met Jerry Falwell

October 5, 1703 -- American religious leader Jonathan Edwards born.

"He (Edwards) believed in the worst God, preached the worst sermons, and had the worst religion of any human being who ever lived on this continent." -- M. M. Richter.

October 6 -- Children's Day.

"All children are essentially criminal." -- Denis Diderot.

Is he kid-ding?

Outlaw Jesse James was born on this day in 1841.

"Jesse James shot children, but only in fact, not in folklore." -- John Greenway.

Bless the beasts, the children

July 17: Art Linkletter, TV host of Kids Say the Darndest Things, was born July 17, 1912.

"I must have been an insufferable child; all children are." -- George Bernard Shaw.



July 18: English author William Makepeace Thackeray was born July 18, 1811.

"Thackeray," said fellow writer John Ruskin, "settled like a meat-fly on whatever one had got for dinner, and made one sick of it."

Out of the mouths of babes

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French aviator and writer (The Little Prince), was born on this day in 1900.

"Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves," he wrote, "and it's tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."

Aye, aye, Captain

The Boy Clubs of America was founded today in 1906.

"Launch your boat, blessed youth, and flee at full speed from every form of culture." -- Epicurus.

Twice a day, for best results

Child-care expert Dr. Benjamin Spock was born on this day in 1903.

"Beat your child once a day. If you don't know why, the child does." -- Chinese proverb.

Then he threw away the key

Father Flanagan established Boys Town on this day in 1917.

"All children are essentially criminal." -- Denis Diderot.