#RIP #OTD in 1843, lawyer, author, and poet ("The Star-Spangled Banner"), Francis Scott Key, died at the home of his daughter Elizabeth Howard in Baltimore, Maryland at the age of 63. Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland https://t.co/Yp6OYL3Gum pic.twitter.com/8nqTCRtZNJ

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 11, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1928 poet, novelist (Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd) Thomas Hardy died at his home, Max Gate aged 87. His heart at St. Michael's Churchyard, Stinsford, England, cremated remains Poets' Corner Westminster Abbey @wabbey https://t.co/Yp6OYL3Gum pic.twitter.com/xGjxWLXJzX

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 11, 2024

12 January 1729. Edmund Burke was born in Dublin, Ireland. He’s best known for his book, Reflections on the Revolution in France, published in 1790, which predicted the French Revolution would soon descend into tyranny and disaster. pic.twitter.com/s1msdWv3K1

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 12, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1976 writer (novels revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple) Agatha Christie died at her home at Winterbrook House in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, aged 85. St. Mary's church, Cholsey, Oxfordshire https://t.co/MU8l9epUox pic.twitter.com/6pHOP3k7xu

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 12, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1599, poet (The Faerie Queene) Edmund Spenser died in London at the age of 46. Westminster Abbey @wabbey https://t.co/peFrdN6kLE pic.twitter.com/WMlm36tvlA

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 13, 2024

13 January 1898. Émile Zola’s famous, J’accuse, open letter was published. It claimed the French government had wrongly jailed the Jewish army officer, Alfred Dreyfus, and was motivated in doing so by antisemitism. Zola later escaped to England, thereby avoiding jail. pic.twitter.com/YPh3yGR2CY

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 13, 2024

13 January 1930. The first Mickey Mouse Comic Strip appeared. It would soon be transferred into a hugely successful animated cartoon film. pic.twitter.com/PrYgJJwfym

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 13, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1941, novelist (Ulysses, Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Finnegans Wake), poet, James Joyce, died after surgery for a perforated ulcer in Zurich, Switzerland aged 58. Joyce private estate in Fluntern Cemetery in Zurich https://t.co/peFrdN6kLE pic.twitter.com/Mak72zVsPs

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 13, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 2009 poet (Heart's Needle) W. D. Snodgrass died in Erieville, New York, aged 83. Cremation (Heart's Needle inaugurated confessional poetry and earned Snodgrass a Pulitzer. He disliked the term) https://t.co/peFrdN6kLE pic.twitter.com/IvyNBzmSQR

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 13, 2024

14 January 1886. Hugh Lofting was born in Maidenhead. He created Dr Dolittle, a classic of children’s literature. It was adapted into a Hollywood film starring Rex Harrison in the title role in 1967. There have been several subsequent film adaptations, with the latest in 2020. pic.twitter.com/B7SsKOmZ8a

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 14, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1898 author (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass), poet (Jabberwocky), mathematician, photographer, Lewis Carroll died; influenza; his sisters' home, The Chestnuts, Guildford, England aged 65.  Mount Cemetery, Guildford https://t.co/wZmPQDxVKv pic.twitter.com/sJr7WUNtHb

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 14, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1977, author (Delta of Venus; Little Birds; Henry and June) Anaïs Nin died in Los Angeles after a three year battle with cancer, at the age of 73. Cremated remains scattered over Santa Monica Bay in Mermaid Cove https://t.co/wZmPQDxVKv pic.twitter.com/jBVomM0xty

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 14, 2024

16 January 1605. The brilliant novel, Don Quixote Part 1 by Miguel de Cervantes was first published in Madrid, Spain. It’s often called “the 1st modern novel”. The second part was published in 1615. The novel is the second most translated book in the world after, The Bible. pic.twitter.com/bBda7TOgVB

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 16, 2024

16 January 1794. Historian Edward Gibbon died (aged 56). His best known work was the mammoth, Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, which was published in 6 volumes. It’s a masterpiece of popular narrative history aimed at the general reader. pic.twitter.com/iXQbDqky96

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 16, 2024

17 January 1820. Anne Brontë was born in Thornton. She was the youngest member of the Brontë family. Her first novel, Agnes Grey, was published in 1847. Her 2nd novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, was published in 1848, and is regarded as one of the first feminist novels. pic.twitter.com/mDAtsHHJCO

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 17, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 2010 author (Love Story, Oliver's Story), screenwriter, educator, and classicist Erich Segal, who had Parkinson's disease, died of a heart attack in London, aged 72. Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery, Golders Green, London https://t.co/eFTz1iPAAh pic.twitter.com/uALM4iiNd6

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 17, 2024

18 January 1879. Boy’s Own Paper was published for the 1st time. Editor was Samuel Beeton, husband of cookery writer, Mrs. Beeton. It was aimed at young boys and was published until 1967. The contents included adventure stories, notes on sports and games, puzzles and much else. pic.twitter.com/8Uj9YIVG51

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 18, 2024

#RIP #OTD in 1936, poet ("If", "Mandalay", "Gunga Din"), writer (The Jungle Book), Nobel Prize recipient, Rudyard Kipling died in Middlesex Hospital, London of a perforated duodenal ulcer, aged 70. Cremated remains Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey @wabbey https://t.co/tFiZhKgHyy pic.twitter.com/YlyepvVPk7

— RIP The Final Footprint (@RIPTFF) January 18, 2024

18 January 1958. The 1st issue of the comic, Bunty, was launched. It was hugely popular with its under 15 female readership. A total of 2,249 issues were published before it ceased publication in 2001. The most popular story was “The Four Marys” who all attended a public school. pic.twitter.com/QT2ACGh0ZA

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) January 18, 2024