Sen. Joe McCarthy died at the age of 48. The Republican from Wisconsin was the leading anti-communist figure for whom the phrase McCarthyism was coined. He was the chairman of Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations (now the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs) and led investigations into Americans who were deemed communists. … [Read more...] about May 2, 1957
Today In History
April 19, 1956
On this day in 1956, Irish-American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco and became Princess Grace of Monaco. The two met while Kelly was filming Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief in the French Riviera. As Princess of Monaco, Kelly retired from acting and founded AMADE Mondiale, a Monaco-based non-profit organization eventually recognized by the UN as a … [Read more...] about April 19, 1956
November 12, 1954
Ellis Island, New York's main point of immigration entrance, was closed on this day in 1954. Since its opening in 1892, Ellis Island admitted 15 million people into America. Ellis Island was purchased from the state of New York by the US government for $10,000 in the early 19th century. It was originally used for arms storage, but became an immigration centre where 5,000 people … [Read more...] about November 12, 1954
May 1, 1954
In Ireland the Irish word Bealtaine is the word used for May Day. Medieval Ireland marked this day as the changing of the seasons from spring to summer. The occasion was marked with bonfires in the hope that all would bode well for the coming harvest. May is also the month that Catholics devote to Mary the mother of God, and in Ireland the tradition of putting up a May altar in … [Read more...] about May 1, 1954
November 27, 1953
On this day in 1953, Irish American playwright Eugene O'Neill died at the age of 65. O'Neill was fittingly born in a Broadway hotel room to Irish immigrant actor James O'Neill and Mary Ellen Quinlan. He grew up around the stage and while at boarding school, he surrounded himself with books. After a long depression and battle with alcoholism and a recovery from tuberculosis, … [Read more...] about November 27, 1953