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Writer's Almanac

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 23, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 23, 2018

On this day in 1823, a poem entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas”—which begins “’Twas the night before Christmas…”—was anonymously published in the Troy Sentinel in New York City.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 22, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 22, 2018

It’s the birthday of composer Giacomo Puccini (1858), who created some of the most popular operas of all time including “La bohème” and “Tosca.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 21, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 21, 2018

On this day in 1937, Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” premiered in Los Angeles, California. It was the first feature-length cartoon and the first to be produced in the new Technicolor.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 20, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 20, 2018

It’s the birthday of Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne (1865), who turned down marriage proposals from poet William Butler Yeats several times over the course of their lifelong friendship.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 19, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 19, 2018

It’s the birthday of French singer Édith Piaf (1915), who was nicknamed “the little sparrow” for her height—she was under 4’10” tall.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 18, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 18, 2018

It was on this day in 1892 that the Nutcracker ballet premiered at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 17, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 17, 2018

The first episode of “The Simpsons” aired on Fox on this date in 1989 after a successful spat of short segments that had appeared on “The Tracey Ullman Show.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 16, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 16, 2018

Today is the birthday of novelist Jane Austen (1775), who said, “I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.”

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 15, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 15, 2018

It’s the birthday of writer Edna O’Brien (1930), one of a select number of Irish artists who have been bestowed the honor of Saoi.

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The Writer’s Almanac for December 14, 2018

The Writer’s Almanac for December 14, 2018

It’s the birthday of Shirley Jackson (1916), author of morbid short story “The Lottery” and novel-turned-Netflix-hit “The Haunting of Hill House.”

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