20 March 1828. Legendary playwright and poet, Henrik Ibsen, was born in Skien, Norway. His major works include: Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, A Doll’s House, and Hedda Gabler. His plays are the 2nd most frequently performed in the world after Shakespeare. pic.twitter.com/ZS2GvdjRKl

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 20, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1964, Irish poet, short story writer, novelist (Borstal Boy), playwright (The Hostage) Brendan Behan died at Meath Hospital in Dublin after collapsing at the Harbour Lights bar, aged 41. Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin https://t.co/G7pf4zZctH pic.twitter.com/NsoQICnPin

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 20, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1994 writer, humorist, newspaper columnist (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Lewis Grizzard died; complications of heart-valve surgery in Atlanta, aged 47. Some cremated remains scattered; 50-yard line of Sanford Stadium, University of Georgia https://t.co/G7pf4zZctH pic.twitter.com/BO4aq3HhFX

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 20, 2024

21 March 2017. Colin Dexter (pictured centre), died (aged 86). He was best known as the author of the Inspector Morse series of novels, which were adapted into a popular ITV series starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately which ran from 1987 to 2000. pic.twitter.com/wn3gjCBGo4

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 21, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1832, writer (Faust, The Sorrows of Young Werther), polymath, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, died in Weimar, Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach at the age of 82. Ducal Vault in Weimar’s Historical Cemetery https://t.co/kj3FFQj96V pic.twitter.com/aXa6mC06ZV

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 22, 2024

22 March 1971. Internationally renowned historian, Peter Frankopan, was born in London. He’s best known as the author of the landmark and best selling books: The Silk Roads and The Earth Transformed. The Sunday Times has described him as a “rock star historian”. pic.twitter.com/sz2OJsjEtc

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 22, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1842, writer (Le Rouge et le Noir, La Chartreuse de Parme) Stendhal died in Paris at the age of 59. Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris https://t.co/4KdUMSeu2S pic.twitter.com/2COoJuvqKK

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 23, 2024

23 March 1946. Alan Bleasdale was born in Liverpool. His drama work is firmly rooted in the city of his birth. His TV dramas have been enriched by humour, often veering towards black comedy. His TV dramas include: Boys from the Blackstuff, The Monocled Mutineer, and GBH. pic.twitter.com/3Ud9F5xNXZ

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 23, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1882, poet ("Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, Evangeline) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died from peritonitis at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 75. Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts https://t.co/UhWf82ApOu pic.twitter.com/Q6Sw1oCXpZ

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 24, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1905, novelist (Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days), poet, playwright Jules Verne died at his home in Amiens, France; diabetes, aged 77. La Madeleine Cemetery in Amiens https://t.co/UhWf82ApOu pic.twitter.com/O6FLNrV5tx

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 24, 2024

#RIP #OTD 1909 playwright (The Playboy of the Western World, Deirdre of the Sorrows), poet, Irish Literary Revival key figure, John Millington Synge died; Hodgkin lymphoma; Elpis Nursing Home, Dublin, aged 37. Mount Jerome Cemetery, Harold's Cross, Dublin https://t.co/UhWf82ApOu pic.twitter.com/rcYpRrjZWZ

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 24, 2024

24 March 1960. A US appeal court ruled that Lady Chatterly’s Lover by DH Lawrence was not obscene and could be sold in American bookshops. The book had attracted notoriety due to its explicit descriptions of sex, and its use of then unprintable 4-letter words. pic.twitter.com/oWmeUkqOR7

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 24, 2024

24 March 1992. The satirical magazine, Punch, announced that it would cease publication after suffering crippling losses of £1:5M in a year. This ended a publishing tradition dating back almost 151 years. The final edition of its original run was published on 8 April 1992. pic.twitter.com/URxnbeI0mO

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 24, 2024

25 March 1811. Poet Percy Shelley was expelled from Oxford University for publishing the pamphlet, The Necessity of Atheism, which argued people don’t choose their beliefs and thus atheists shouldn’t be persecuted. However, Shelley was probably an agnostic rather than an atheist. pic.twitter.com/kGrHamXkgM

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 25, 2024

25 March 1906. AJP Taylor was born in Birkdale. He was the original “TV Historian”. His views were often controversial. He argued Chamberlain’s mistakes in 1939, especially guaranteeing Poland, and failing to gain an alliance with the Soviet Union caused the outbreak of WW2. pic.twitter.com/45piTjEzsu

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 25, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1931 journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement, Ida B. Wells died of kidney failure in Chicago at the age of 68. Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago's South Side https://t.co/sLoO69R9Cr pic.twitter.com/EdWIVH7QeI

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 25, 2024

26 March 1484. William Caxton printed a translation of Aesop’s Fables. Caxton was the 1st English commercial printer. Each of Aesop’s fables contains a lesson or a moral. Although they were popular with children, they weren’t originally intended for children at all. pic.twitter.com/XkXnpSlKOA

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 26, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1892, poet (Leaves of Grass), essayist, journalist, teacher, government clerk, volunteer nurse during the Civil War, The Father of Free Verse, Walt Whitman died in Camden, New Jersey, aged 72. Private mausoleum at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden https://t.co/GQ7OKsYWAh pic.twitter.com/riJdvo6WL3

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) March 26, 2024

26 March 1885. Mrs Jeanette C. Pickersgill who The Times described as “a well known figure in literary and scientific circles “ became the 1st person in the UK to be legally cremated in an official purpose built crematorium in Woking, Surrey. pic.twitter.com/Jo9KAylTDH

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 26, 2024