1922 Sir Ernest Shackleton (47), explorer, died suddenly in South Georgia as he prepared to lead a fourth expedition to the Antarctic.
1989 John A. Costello (84), taoiseach in the first two interparty governments, mainly remembered for the declaration of the Republic of Ireland (1948) and the Mother and Child Scheme controversies, died.
1976 A day after the murder of five Catholics in the area, the IRA murdered ten Protestant factory workers at Kingsmills, near Bessbrook, Co. Armagh.
1976 John A. Costello (84), barrister, attorney general of Ireland (1926–32) and taoiseach (1948–51, 1954–7), died.
1957 In what became known as the ‘Eisenhower Doctrine’, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promised military or economic aid to any Middle Eastern country needing help in resisting communist aggression.
1953 Twenty-seven people were killed when a BEA Viking aircraft crash-landed just short of the runway at Nutt’s Corner (Belfast) airport.
1922 Sir Ernest Shackleton, polar explorer, died suddenly in South Georgia as he prepared to lead a fourth expedition to the Antarctic.
1973 Gerald Boland (87), co-founder of Fianna Fáil, who, as minister for justice (1939–48), was vilified by republicans for interning hundreds of IRA members, died.
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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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