On this day: December 19
POSTED: 3:58 PM PST December 18, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST December 18, 2012
"A Christmas Carol" is first published, the NHL plays its first games, Apollo 17 splashes down, and the U.S. House impeaches President Bill Clinton, all on this day.
Library of Congress
1732: Benjamin Franklin begins publishing "Poor Richard's Almanack" under the pseudonym of "Richard Saunders." The yearly almanac, which appeared continually through 1758, became popular for the usual mixture of seasonal weather forecasts and practical household hints. However, it is mostly remembered for being a repository of Franklin's aphorisms and proverbs, many of which live on in American English.
