On November 10, 1969, Sesame Street, a pioneering TV show that would teach generations of young children the alphabet and how to count, makes its broadcast debut. Sesame Street, with its memorable theme song (“Can you tell me how to get/How to get to Sesame Street”), went on to become the most widely viewed children’s program in the world. It has aired in more than 120 countries.
The show was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney, a former documentary producer for public television. Cooney’s goal was to create programming for preschoolers that was both entertaining and educational. She also wanted to use TV as a way to help underprivileged 3- to 5- year-olds prepare for kindergarten. Sesame Street was set in a fictional New York neighborhood and included ethnically diverse characters and positive social messages.
Taking a cue from Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, a popular 1960s variety show, Sesame Street was built around short, often funny segments featuring puppets, animation and live actors. This format was hugely successful, although over the years some critics have blamed the show and its use of brief segments for shrinking children’s attention spans.
From the show’s inception, one of its most-loved aspects has been a family of puppets known as Muppets. Joan Ganz Cooney hired puppeteer Jim Henson (1936-1990) to create a cast of characters that became Sesame Street institutions, including Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Grover and Big Bird.
The subjects tackled by Sesame Street have evolved with the times. In 2002, the South African version of the program, Takalani Sesame, introduced a 5-year-old Muppet character named Kami who is HIV-positive, in order to help children living with the stigma of a disease that has reached epidemic proportions. In 2006, a new Muppet, Abby Cadabby, made her debut and was positioned as the show’s first female star character, in an effort to encourage diversity and provide a strong role model for girls.
Since its inception, over 74 million Americans have watched Sesame Street. Today, an estimated 8 million people tune in to the show each week in the U.S. alone.
Louisa May Alcott publishes her first story
On Noember 11, the publishes The Rival Painters: A Story of Rome, by Louisa May Alcott, who will later write the beloved children’s book (1868).
Alcott, the second of four daughters, was born in Pennsylvania but spent most of her life in Concord, Massachusetts. Her father, Bronson, was close friends with Transcendentalist thinkers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, whose progressive attitudes toward education and social issues left a strong mark on Louisa. Her father started a school based on Transcendentalist teachings, but after six years it failed, and he was unable to support the family and, afterward, Louisa dedicated most of her life to supporting them. After the publication of her first story, she made a living off sentimental and melodramatic stories for more than two decades.
In 1862 she went to work as a nurse for Union troops in the Civil War until typhoid fever broke her health. She turned her experiences into (1863), which established her reputation as a serious literary writer.
Looking for a bestseller, a publisher asked Alcott to write a book for girls. Although reluctant at first, Alcott finally agreed and poured her best talent into the work. The first volume of the serialized novel was an immediate success, and she began writing a chapter a day to finish the second. Her subsequent children’s fiction, including (1871), (1870), (1875), and (1886), while not as popular as are still enjoyed today. She also wrote many short stories for adults. She became a strong supporter of women’s issues and spent most of her life caring for her family financially, emotionally, and physically. Her father died in March 1888, and she followed him just two days later.
