WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - This Week in Western Civilization: February 9-13

Episode Date: February 9, 2026

Olivia Finch discusses the anniversaries of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison, the death of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the 1994 theft of Munch’s The Scream.

Welcome to this week in Western Civilization on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm your host, Olivia Finch, bringing new snapshots of history in context. Hello, everyone. Today we'll be covering one important birth, one important death, and one notable event that happened between February 8th and February 14th in Western SIV. On February 11, 1847, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. Edison is best known for the invention of the incandescent light bulb, the motion picture camera, and the phonograph. The first words I spoke in the original phonograph. A little piece of practical poetry. Mary had a little lamb.

It speaks was quite as slow. And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was born. Children's wrong. On February 10th, 1857, American author, teacher, and journalist Laura Ingalls Wilder died at the age of 90 at her home in Mansfield, Missouri. Wilder is best known as the author of the semi-autobiographical Little House on the Prairie novels, which have remained beloved children's classics since their publication and have been translated into over 40 languages.

While this next event is not well known in itself, it does. involve a very recognizable work of art. On February 12, 1994, two men broke into the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway, and stole the 1839 version of Edward Munch's painting The Scream. The thieves left a note saying, thanks for the poor security, and the Norwegian police set up a sting operation to recover the painting. The painting was successfully recovered on May 7, 1994. You've been listening to this week in Western Civilization with Olivia Finch on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you next week.