Charles Dickens

On this day in 1867 Charles Dickens gave the first reading of his American tour. All but a few evenings over the five months were a sell-out, with some sleeping out overnight to beat a ticket line almost a half-mile long. 

Among the few who were not impressed were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and the little girl on the train who told Dickens she liked his books, though "I do skip some of the very dull parts, once in a while; not the short dull parts, but the long ones." 

Source: http://www.todayinliterature.com/