Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882), one of the most popular American poets of the nineteenth century, wrote in 1845 a sonnet titled “The Evening StarFriedrich, Caspar David.” Many scholars assume that any use of the phrase “evening star” always indicates a reference to the planet Venus. However, the pages of early almanacs include many examples that demonstrate conclusively that any bright planet visible in the sky after sunset can be considered as an evening star. Can we determine the precise date when Longfellow viewed the sky and then wrote this poem? Was Longfellow’s “The Evening Star” inspired by a sighting of Venus or an observation of some other bright planet?  A long-standing custom describes Austin, Texas, as “The City of the Violet Crown.” According to local writers, this refers to spectacular violet and purple sunset colors in the twilight sky above the hills to the west of the city. For many years, Austin historians unanimously asserted that the phrase “The City of the Violet Crown” was coined in 1894 by the famous short story writer O. Henry. Is this attribution correct? Or can we find mentions of Austin’s Violet Crown in other sources earlier than 1894? What is the actual origin of the phrase “City of the Violet Crown”?