April 17, 1897: Thornton Wilder, playwright and novelist, was born in Madison. Wilder was catapulted to fame when his novel, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," won the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He received other Pulitzer Prizes for his 1938 play, "Our Town," and the 1942 theatrical work, "The Skin of Our Teeth." Died: December 7, 1975.