Original: A New York Times transcript from Abraham Lincoln's speech written in 1862 discovered by Bryan Benilous contains ";)"; there is some debate as to whether it is a typo, a legitimate punctuation construct, or an emoticon.
Simplified: A New York Times transcript of an 1862 speech given by Abraham Lincoln contains ";)" (now known as a winky-face). There is some debate as to whether it is a typo, a legitimate form of punctuation, or an emoticon.