1961 Barack Hussein Obama, 44th and current president of the United States and great-great-great-grandson of Fulmouth Kearney of Moneygall, Co. Offaly, born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1927 John Dillon (75), land agitator and Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) MP (1880–1918) who made a famous speech in the House of Commons in defence of the leaders of the 1916 Rising (11 May 1916), died.
1914 At 8am German troops invaded Belgium. At 11pm Britain declared war on Germany. ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe, and we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime’—Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary.
1812 Robert Peel, MP for Cashel, was appointed chief secretary for Ireland.
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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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