William Safire is 79 today.
He once wrote a list called “William Safire’s Rules for Writers.” The rules included: “Remember to never split an infinitive,” “The passive voice should never be used,” and, “Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.”
Barry Livingston of My Three Sons is 55. Barry was the fourth son, Ernie.
The great conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, was born on this date in 1894.
The poet John Greenleaf Whittier was born on this date in 1807.
The sun that brief December day
Rose cheerless over hills of gray,
And, darkly circled, gave at noon
A sadder light than waning moon.
Slow tracing down the thickening sky
Its mute and ominous prophecy,
A portent seeming less than threat,
It sank from sight before it set.
A chill no coat, however stout,
Of homespun stuff could quite shut out,
A hard, dull bitterness of cold,
That checked, mid-vein, the circling race
Of life-blood in the sharpened face,
The coming of the snow-storm told.
Above, the opening to Snow-Bound, published in 1866.