1790
French Egyptologist Jean Francois Champollion born. In 1822 he decoded the hieroglyphics of the Rosetta Stone.

1823
A Visit From St. Nicholas, attributed to Clement Moore, was first published.

1862
Union General Ben “Beast” Butler was proclaimed a “felon, outlaw, and common enemy of mankind” by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Butler had issued an order that any Southern woman in New Orleans who insulted a Northern soldier was to be treated as a prostitute.

1888
After an argument with painter Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh uses a razor and removes a portion of his left ear. Their quarrel regarded the prostitutes in Arles.

1926
Poet Robert Bly born in Madison, Minnesota.

1940
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna) born in Wahington D.C.

1943
Comedian Harry Shearer (This is Spinal Tap) born in Los Angeles.

Today from Chamber's Book of Days