Long ago

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1686  Robinson Crusoe leaves his island after 28 years (as per Defoe)

1732 Benjamin Franklin under the name Richard Saunders begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"

1776 Thomas Paine published his 1st "American Crisis" essay, in which he wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls"

1843 Charles Dickens publishes "A Christmas Carol," in England

1946 War breaks out in Indochina as Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi

1950 Tibet's Dalai Lama flees Chinese invasion

1955 Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes"

1957 "Music Man" opens on Broadway at the Majestic Theater

1995 Queen Elizabeth askes Prince Charles & Diana to divorce

1996 The school board of Oakland, Calif., voted to recognize Black English, also known as "ebonics."


1997 "Titanic," the highest-grossing movie of all-time, opened in American theaters.

1998 President Clinton impeached