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.
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Public domain
1900: Irish writer Oscar Wilde, who became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s, dies of cerebral meningitis at the age of 46 in Paris, France. Among his most popular works were "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Importance of Being Earnest."