1922 Anti-Treaty IRA, under the command of Rory O’Connor, occupied the Four Courts.
1970 A potentially lethal oxygen tank failure on board Apollo 13 forced the cancellation of a planned moon landing. The three-man crew returned safely to earth four days later.
1919 The Amritsar (Punjab) massacre. Up to 1,000 were killed and over 1,000 injured when troops of the British Indian Army, under the command of Col. Reginald Dyer, opened fire on local residents and travelling pilgrims. The event accelerated the rise of Indian nationalism.
1939 Seamus Heaney, poet and scholar, born near Castledawson, Co. Derry (70 today).
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Personal Histories
Personal Histories is an initiative by History Ireland,
which aims to capture the individual histories of Irish
people both in Ireland and around the world. It is hoped
to build an extensive database reflecting Irish lives,
giving them a chance to be heard, remembered and to
add their voice to the historical record.
Click Here to go to the Personal Histories page
1920 Recruitment began, mainly from among demobilised British Army officers, into a new force—the ‘Auxiliary Division’—to augment the RIC.
1939 Michael Longley, poet, notable for ‘Gorse Fires’ (1991), ‘The Weather in Japan’ (2000) and ‘The Stairwell’ (2014), born in Belfast of English parents.
2004 Bob Tisdall (96), Olympic gold medal-winner in the 400m hurdles (Los Angeles, 1932) in a world record time of 51.7 seconds—which was not recognised under the rules at the time because he had hit a hurdle—died.
1866 The SS Great Eastern completed the laying of a transatlantic telegraph cable between Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, and Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
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