General George S. Patton Jr., an American World War II
hero famed for his battlefield brilliance, unvarnished view
of combat and volatile personality, died in Heidelberg,
Germany, on this day in history, Dec. 21, 1945. He was
60 years old.
Patton was paralyzed in an auto accident on Dec. 9. "Old
Blood and Guts" died in the hospital of a blood clot in his
heart.
On December 20, 1957, while spending the Christmas holidays
at Graceland, his newly purchased Tennessee mansion, rock-
and-roll star Elvis Presley received his draft notice for the United
States Army.
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977)
The Buster Brown story began in 1878 when George Warren
Brown turned the city of St. Louis, Missouri into the center
of the shoe manufacturing world.
The Brown Shoe Co. really took off when a sales executive at
Brown, John A. Bush, acquired the name and character rights
to the Buster Brown comic strip character in 1904, and the
Buster Brown shoe company was born (the Brown last name
was purely a happy coincidence).
The shoes became instant hits, and the legend grew stronger
with each decade.
George Warren Brown (1852 – 1921)
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)
