I was listening to the radio over my morning coffee this morning when I heard that today is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi‘s birthday. I thought I’d have a peek and see if Open Library holds references to any of his writings. Turns out we do.

From Third Class in Indian Railways, one of a short series of essays including The Moral Basis of Co-operation, published in 1917:

The compartment itself was evil looking. Dirt was lying thick upon the wood work and I do not know that it had ever seen soap or water. (From Page 5)

Or from A Guide To Health, published in 1921.

Exercise is as much of vital necessity for man as air, water and food, in the sense that no man who does not take exercise regularly, can be perfectly healthy. By “exercise” we do not mean merely walking, or games like hockey, football or cricket; we include under the term all physical and mental activity. Exercise, even as food, is as essential to the mind as to the body. The mind is much weakened by want of exercise as the body, and a feeble mind is, indeed, a form of disease. (Page 59.)

We have many more titles by him, including translations and other works such as Indian Home Rule, The Pilgrim’s March & Freedom’s Battle. (Just look for the “View” link to read the texts, scanned by the Internet Archive.)

Happy Birthday to this great man in human history. And in general, I wonder how we might begin to deliver “timely history” for visitors to Open Library. What timely historic texts might we display, driven by the editorial of the day?