Thank you for the author's name (your memory is correct), cowboypoet, I've searched it for some time. With your help I've located several pages on that song. I have not found the data of writing, but 1860 seems to be a good guess according to several pages.

It seems to be (according to several pages) the most often played and most often recorded song in history (over 5000 different recordings are on record). Bizet seems to have brought this tune into classical music.

There are rumours, probably not true, that to hear this song (in German) was the last wish of emperor Maximilian of Mexico before being executed.

Wolfgang