The artist Sarah Purser was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin on this day in 1848. She was raised in Dungarvan, County Waterford and educated in Switzerland. She went on to study at the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin, and in Paris at the Académie Julian. Working primarily as a portrait artist, she also became associated with the stained glass movement. Purser opened a … [Read more...] about March 22, 1848
Today In History
November 8, 1847
Bram Stoker, the famous author of "Dracula," was born in Dublin on this day in 1847. Born Abraham Stoker, he was the third of seven children. He had a very sickly childhood and spent most of it bed-ridden, which allowed for his imagination to run wild. He recovered and attended Trinity College Dublin where he studied mathematics. Following Trinity, he found an interest in … [Read more...] about November 8, 1847
May 15, 1847
Daniel O'Connell died on this day in 1847. Often referred to as The Liberator or The Emancipator, O'Connell was a gifted orator. Born in County Kerry on August 6, 1775, he studied law and became a barrister in 1798. In 1811, he established the Catholic Board, championing Catholic emancipation. In 1841, he became the first Catholic Lord mayor of Dublin. He then led a series of … [Read more...] about May 15, 1847
May 4, 1847
New York State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration. Two-thirds of all emigration to America came through New York from the 1780s to the 1880s. With the onset of the Famine and thousands of Irish emigrants arriving in a constant stream, benevolent societies were established and lobbied New York State to set up a board of Commissioners of Emigration. The Board, which … [Read more...] about May 4, 1847
March 23, 1847
On this day in 1847, the Choctaw Native American tribe collected money to help starving victims of the Irish potato famine. Several years before, in 1831, President Andrew Jackson seized Choctaw territory in what is now southeastern Mississippi and parts of Alabama, forcing the Choctaw to travel five hundred miles along the "Trail of Tears" to reserved Indian Territory in … [Read more...] about March 23, 1847