MOMENTS IN TIME - Dec. 9, 2010

* On Dec. 19, 1732, Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia first publishes “Poor Richard’s Almanack.” The book, filled with proverbs preaching industry and prudence, was published continuously for 25 years and became one of the most popular publications in colonial America, selling an average of 10,000 copies a year.

* On Dec. 17, 1843, Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol” is published. When Dickens’ father was thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824, 12-year-old Charles was sent to work in a factory. The miserable treatment of children and the institution of the debtors’ jail became topics of several of Dickens’ novels.

* On Dec. 18, 1886, the often-controversial baseball legend Ty Cobb is born in Narrows, Ga. In 1911, he led the league in eight offensive categories, including batting (.420), slugging percentage (.621), hits (248), doubles (47), triples (24), runs (147), RBI (144) and steals (83), and won the first American League MVP award.

* On Dec. 13, 1915, detective novelist Kenneth Millar, better known by his nom de plume Ross Macdonald, was born in Los Gatos, Calif. He wrote 24 mystery novels, 20 of them featuring detective Lew Archer, who first appeared in “The Moving Target” (1949).

* On Dec. 14, 1977, the film “Saturday Night Fever” had its world premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. Four No. 1 pop hits were launched by the movie’s landmark soundtrack album, including “How Deep Is Your Love.”

* On Dec. 15, 1944, legendary bandleader Glenn Miller (also a captain in the U.S Army Air Force) disappears over the English Channel en route to France for a congratulatory performance for American troops who had recently helped to liberate Paris. The wreckage of Miller’s plane was never found.

* On Dec. 16, 1989, federal Judge Robert Vance is instantly killed by a powerful explosion after opening a package mailed to his house near Birmingham, Ala. In June 1991, a federal jury convicted Walter LeRoy Moody on charges related to the bombings and sentenced him to seven life terms plus 400 years in prison.