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Article: NY researcher: `Yankee Doodle' turns 250 _ maybe
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- July 4, 2008
- Author:
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Wish "Yankee Doodle" a happy 250th birthday. Maybe.
The original lyrics to one of America's best-known songs, one associated with the American Revolution, were actually written a couple decades earlier during the French and Indian War, although an exact date has eluded historians. Some peg the year as 1755, when the war's first major battles were fought, or 1756.
The other year often cited is 1758. Now, a state archaeologist believes he has narrowed down the date to sometime in June of that year, when a large British-led army was mustering at Albany for an expedition against the French.
Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army physician, is credited with penning ...