He conceived the idea of his revolver pistol by observing a ship's capstan on a voyage to India in 1830

He became the drummer for Genesis in 1970; he didn't become lead singer until after Peter Gabriel left in 1975 He burned the second volume of his novel Dead Souls before dying on the verge of madness in 1852 He called his third collection of short stories The Trimmed Lamp and Other Stories of the Four Million He conceived the general plan for Faust in 1770, but it wasn't until 1808 that the complete first part was published He engraved his poems such as The Tyger, illustrated them & hand-colored the prints he made He eulogized George Washington as first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen He fathered the current Prince of Wales He followed up Treasure Island with a volume of children's poetry, A Child's Garden of Verses