On December 23, 1823, “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” perhaps
the most famous and influential Christmas poem ever was
published in the Troy Sentinel newspaper in New York by
an anonymous author.

In an event alternately described as one of the most heroic or
disastrous episodes in British military history, Lord James
Cardigan leads a charge of the Light Brigade cavalry against
well-defended Russian artillery during the Crimean War.

The British were winning the Battle of Balaklava when Cardigan
received his order to attack the Russians. His cavalry gallantly
charged down the valley and were decimated by the heavy
Russian guns, suffering 40 percent casualties. It was later
revealed that the order was the result of confusion and was
not given intentionally.

Lord Cardigan, who survived the battle, was hailed as a national
hero in Britain.

James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of Cardigan
(1797 – 1868) 

First sheet music publication of The Star Spangled Banner.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United
States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M’Henry", a
poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September
14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry by
the British Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of
1812. Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly
above the fort after the battle.

The 15-star, 15-stripe "Star-Spangled Banner" that inspired
the poem.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional act
making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the official national
anthem of the United States on t his day in 1931.

On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key composed the
lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” after witnessing
the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort
McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812. Key, an
American lawyer, watched the siege while under
detainment on a British ship and penned the famous
words after observing with awe that Fort McHenry’s
flag survived the 1,800-bomb assault.

Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843)

Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven,” beginning “Once
upon a midnight dreary,”was published on this day in the New
York Evening Mirror.

Poe’s dark and macabre work reflected his own tumultuous and
difficult life. Born in Boston in 1809, Poe was orphaned at age
three and went to live with the family of a Richmond, Virginia, businessman. Poe studied at the University of Virginia but was
expelled for gambling. He later enrolled briefly at a military
academy. 

     
      
       
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)