On this day in 1818, Bernardo O'Higgins helped to secure the independence of Chile from Spain in the Battle of Maipú. O'Higgins, then Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, was the illegitimate son of Ambrosio (formerly Ambrose) Bernardo O'Higgins, an Irishman from Co. Sligo who had moved to Spain as a young man and received colonial postings of increasing importance from the … [Read more...] about April 5, 1818
Today In History
July 7, 1816
On this day in 1816, Dublin born playwright and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan died in London. Sheridan was a member of the British House of Commons and is best remembered for his plays "A Trip to Scarborough," "The Rivals," and "The School for Scandal." He was very well respected by his contemporaries and is buried at the Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. … [Read more...] about July 7, 1816
August 14, 1814
Mary O'Connell, famous American Civil War nurse, was born in Limerick on this day in 1814. After immigrating to the U.S. and being educated there, O'Connell became Sister Anthony, SC. On the battlefield, she became known as "the angel of the battlefield." Aside from caring for soldiers, Sister Anthony was also recognized for her work during the yellow fever scare of 1877. … [Read more...] about August 14, 1814
March 11, 1812
Irish composer and musician William Vincent Wallace was born in County Waterford on this day in 1812. As a child, he learned to play several instruments, excelling at both violin and piano. At eighteen, he began teaching piano at the Ursuline Convent, where he fell in love with--and eventually married--one of his students. He moved his family to Australia, and in 1836 they … [Read more...] about March 11, 1812
March 10, 1810
Scholar and poet Sir Samuel Ferguson was born in Belfast on this day in 1810. Due to his interest in Irish legends and mythology, he is believed to be a forerunner of William Butler Yeats and the Irish Literary Revival in general. Ferguson studied law at Trinity University, where he supported by contributing to Blackwood's Magazine, and by later writing for Dublin University … [Read more...] about March 10, 1810