Comet of 1811

You can read more about this at Wikipedia

But to sum it up, it was discovered March 25, 1811 it's brightness continued on until Jan. 1812

Events like this had huge impacts on people/culture. Tolstoy included it in his novel, War & Peace, Napoleon used it as inspiration for invading Russia. Wine produced that year was often labeled Comet Wine.

Other comets have made their way into folklore and literature, ex Hailey's Comet often reflected upon by Mark Twain.

There's several artist renditions of the Comet of 1811 but the one I liked the most is in Robert Merry's Museum. Here's a link 1811 Comet