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May 12

Published in On this Day listing

1820 Florence Nightingale, social reformer and founder of modern nursing, born in Florence, Italy.
1712 Building commenced on the library of Trinity College, Dublin, designed by Thomas Burgh, at a cost of £15,000.
1916 James Connolly (47) and Seán MacDiarmada (33) executed. Prime Minister H.H. Asquith arrived in Ireland (until 18th).
1916 James Connolly and Seán MacDiarmada were executed in Kilmainham Jail.
1967 John Masefield (88), poet, notably of ‘Sea Fever’ (1902), writer and Poet Laureate since 1930, died.

On this Day

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.