Early A.D.'s
Jesus teaches the Golden Rule, suggesting we love our neighbors as we love ourselves; Judas misses the memo.



1775
Jane Austen, born, goes on to pen decorous oeuvre in which the arched eyebrow proves far mightier than the angry tweet.



1861
Presiding over a deeply divided nation, Abraham Lincoln seeks compromise, bringing almost saintly civility to a brutally un-Civil War.



1914
World War I soldiers set aside their guns for a Christmas truce. Carols sung, soccer played, cigarettes and chocolate exchanged.



1961
Urban organizer and good neighbor Jane Jacobs calls b.s. on city "planning" that razes tightly knit 'hoods. Her theory? A city is best when all its residents coexist in (cramped) harmony.



1974
Rather than draft an icy kiss-off to her longtime singing partner Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton wishes him well with "I Will Always Love You," the kindest-possible pink slip (and one of the best-selling songs of all time).



2016
After Supreme Court Justice antonin Scalia's death, Ruth Bader Ginsburg calls him "a treasured friend." Though they staunchly didn't share political views, they did share a mutual respect and a passion for opera.



2017
Barack and Michelle gently guide a stranded Melania Trump into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day. #ThanksObamas

Photos from top to bottom: Eyeem/ Getty Images. Universal Images Group/Getty Images. E+/Getty Images. Arterra/UIG Via Getty Images. Gab Archive/ Redferns/Getty Images. Frank Lennon/Toronto Starvia/Getty Images. Chuck Kennedy/MCT via Getty Images. Kevin Dietsch/DPA/Alamy

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From the April 2017 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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