Mark Twain's birth in November 1835 was heralded by the return of Halley's comet. Twain, who often remarked upon this curiosity, came to think of himself and the comet as "unaccountable freaks," cosmically linked: having come in together, he declared, they would go out together.

In fact, Twain was proven right. On the night of his death in April 1910, Halley's comet once again blazed through the sky...

[Halley's comet, which also appeared in 1066, has a period of approximately 76 years. In 1910, superstitious people bought anti-comet pills at $1 a box.]