Mark Twain is born, Lucy and Desi elope, civil war breaks out in Palestine, Bing and Bowie sing a Christmas duet, and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is released, all on this day.
5 / 51
Library of Congress
1835: Samuel Langhorne Clemens is born in Florida, Mo. Under the pen name Mark Twain, he would become one of America's greatest humorists, best known for his novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and its sequel, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."