4 December 1937. The first issue of the popular children’s comic, The Dandy, was published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. It’s the world’s 3rd-longest running comic, but ceased publication on 4 December 2012. pic.twitter.com/b7msPtiiWB

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1975 historian, philosopher (The Origins of Totalitarianism), influential political theorist, Hannah Arendt died from a heart attack in her apartment in New York City aged 69. Cremated remains; Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York https://t.co/f0J35UsnwC pic.twitter.com/OQVJ85LWmc

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 4, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1784, poet, considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry, Phillis Wheatley died at the approximate age of 31 in Boston. Copp's Hill Burying Ground, Boston https://t.co/rCb6Ahi7yb pic.twitter.com/J8OgzVdEFj

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 5, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1870, writer (Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, Les Trois Mousquetaires) Alexandre Dumas, died at the age of 68 in Puys (near Dieppe), Seine-Maritime, France. Panthéon in Paris https://t.co/rCb6Ahi7yb pic.twitter.com/nwuUdxh3a8

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 5, 2023

7 December 1928. Linguist, philosopher and political activist, Noam Chomsky, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He’s been called “the father of modern linguistics”, and is a major figure in analytic philosophy, and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. pic.twitter.com/TlgqoO3YzO

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1975 playwright (Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth) and novelist (The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Eighth Day) Thornton Wilder died at his home in Hamden, Connecticut of heart failure, aged 78. Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hamden https://t.co/srtUmJRnLo pic.twitter.com/c1J5krjiQu

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 7, 2023

7 December 1978. Leading historian, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb, was born in London. She’s written books on Tudor History, particularly on Henry VIII. She has also appeared as a presenter in a number of history documentaries, and podcasts and as a guest on popular TV panel games. pic.twitter.com/PPtLv4NHJW

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2023

7 December 1985. Acclaimed writer and poet, Robert Graves, died (aged 90). He produced more than 140 works in his lifetime, including collections of poems, translations of Greek myths, the famous novel, I Claudius, and his famous memoir of his early life, Good-Bye to All That. pic.twitter.com/96tAq4gGXc

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2023

7 December 2023. Leading poet, Benjamin Zephaniah, died (aged 65). He said his mission was to fight the dead image of poetry in academia. He was listed at No. 48 in The Times list of the 50 Greatest Postwar Writers. pic.twitter.com/OMVreAmmmd

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 7, 2023

8 December 1951. Best selling writer, primarily of travelogue books, Bill Bryson, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. He is a self-confessed Anglophile, and has lived in Britain for most of his adult life. pic.twitter.com/jYewr5M24x

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 8, 2023

9 December 1608. Acclaimed poet, John Milton, was born in London. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem, Paradise Lost, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written. pic.twitter.com/ky31cuJEtv

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 9, 2023

9 December 1897. Feminist activist, Marguerite Durand, founded the first feminist daily newspaper, La Fronde (The Sling), in Paris, France. It was written entirely by women and its intended audience was women. pic.twitter.com/5e7AOHClRn

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 9, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1964 poet (Façade), writer (I Live Under a Black Sun), critic Edith Sitwell died at St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth, London, aged 77. Parish church of Saints Mary and Peter in Weedon Lois, Northamptonshire. Portrait by Roger Fry https://t.co/oLXrab42ex pic.twitter.com/6wUP0VvMFu

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 9, 2023

10 December 1884. Mark Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was published. It’s commonly named among the “Great American Novels” and was the sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and is noted for its vivid descriptions of people and places along the Mississippi River. pic.twitter.com/3ilfAlBt3q

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 10, 2023

10 December 1907. Rudyard Kipling became the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in consideration of his “power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration”. pic.twitter.com/Jp4xjYxXdr

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 10, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 1936 dramatist (Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, Ciascuno a suo modo, Questa sera si recita a soggetto), poet, Luigi Pirandello died alone at home in Via Bosio, Rome, aged 69. Casa Natale di Luigi Pirandello, Agrigento, Sicilia https://t.co/NWw8RhAdxC pic.twitter.com/3HAEGfG3bi

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 10, 2023

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”

Toni Morrison's remarkable Noble Prize acceptance speech:https://t.co/TgZ4YXzNP4

— Maria Popova (@brainpicker) April 25, 2019

11 December 1918. Nobel prize winning novelist and dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, was born in Kislovodsk, Russia. He was an outspoken critic of the Soviet Union and Communism, helping to raise global awareness of the brutal Soviet Gulag forced-labor camp system. pic.twitter.com/yBhaLVYbEv

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 11, 2023

#RIP #OTD in 2021 author (Interview with the Vampire, The Feast of All Saints, Exit to Eden), Anne Rice died from complications of a stroke in Rancho Mirage, California, aged 80. Rice family mausoleum, Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans https://t.co/CeBMf1gvY8 pic.twitter.com/PNFS3oB82F

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) December 11, 2023