Katharine Lee Bates (1859 – 1929) a poet and professor at
Wellesley College, is best known as the author of "America
the Beautiful," which she wrote after a trip to the summer
of Pike’s Peak in 1893.

First-edition cover

George Orwell’s novel of a dystopian future, 1984, was
published on June 8, 1949. The novel’s all-seeing leader,
known as “Big Brother,” became a universal symbol for
intrusive government and oppressive bureaucracy.

George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair ) who was born in India,
the son of a British civil servant.

Eric Arthur Blair
(25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950)

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show opened in London on May 9, 1887
giving Queen Victoria and her subjects their first look at a
romanticized version of the American West.

A well-known scout for the army and a buffalo hunter for the
railroads (which earned him his nickname), Cody had gained
national prominence 15 years earlier thanks to a fanciful novel
written by Edward Zane Carroll Judson. Writing under the pen
name Ned Buntline, Judson made Cody the hero of his highly sensationalized dime novel The Scouts of the Plains; or, Red
Deviltry As It Is. In 1872, Judson also convinced Cody to travel
to Chicago to star in a stage version of the book. Cody broke
with Judson after a year, but he enjoyed the life of a performer
and stayed on the stage for 11 seasons.

William Frederick Cody “Buffalo Bill” 
(February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917)

Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr.
(March 20, 1821 – July 16, 1886)

Atlanta magazine writer Margaret Mitchell (above) earned the
Pulitzer Prize in Novels for her breathtaking work of historical
fiction, "Gone with the Wind," on this day in history, May 3, 1937.

"Gone with the Wind," Mitchell’s 1,000-page Civil War saga, is
one of the world’s most successful novels. Even today, it enjoys
a global following.

A 1843 first edition of the classic book "A Christmas Carol"
by Charles Dickens.

Fox News) – "A Christmas Carol," a globally celebrated timeless
tale of heartwarming human redemption crafted as a haunting
holiday ghost story, was published in London on this day in
history, Dec. 19, 1843. 

Except for the biblical narrative of the birth of Christ itself, "A
Christmas Carol" may be the world’s most well-known and
most frequently retold tale of the holiday.

English author Dickens, 31 years old at the time, had recently
gained literary celebrity following the release of "Sketches by
Boz," "The Pickwick Papers" and "Oliver Twist."

"’A Christmas Carol’ was written over a few short weeks to
ensure its publication before Christmas 1843, but its message
has stood the test of time," notes the Charles Dickens Museum
of London. 

Charles John Huffam Dickens
( 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870)