May 10, 1898

Ariel Durant (May 10, 1898 to October 25, 1981) collaborated with her husband Will in the writing of The Story of Civilization, (1935-1975), the 11 volume set, which won for them both, a Pulitzer Prize in 1968, in the category of general nonfiction. The volume which was specified in the prize was Rousseau and Revolution.

Ariel was not at first credited for her contributions. The Age of Greece (1939) does not list her on the title page. She might well, though have been responsible for this excerpt, which cites Theophrastus as a source:

Your Superstitious Man will not sally forth for the day till he have washed his hands and sprinkled himself at the Nine Springs, and put a bit of bay-leaf from a temple in his mouth. And if a cat cross his path he will not proceed on his way till some one else has gone by, or he has cast three stones across the street...

The text soon continues

Witches are not medieval inventions; note Euripides' Medea and Theocritus' Simeaetha. Superstition is one of the most stable of social phenomena; it remains almost unchanged through centuries and civilizations...

Will Durant was teaching, when one of his students, a 14 year old Ariel, captivated him. He resigned his post so as not to seem unprofessional. They were married when Ariel was 15. It is one of the nicest love stories of the 20th century.