Today in History

Poet Louis MacNeice died of pneumonia on this day in 1963. Born on September 12, 1907 in Belfast, and went on to study classics and philosophy at Oxford. He taught at the University of Birmingham and later at Bedford College for Women before taking a job at the British Broadcasting Company, as a staff writer and producer. As was common for English poets at the time, MacNeice … [Read more...] about September 3, 1963

President John F. Kennedy receives a warm welcome upon his visit to his ancestral home in Co. Wexford, Ireland. Marking the second day of his four day trip through Ireland, Kennedy also visited the nearby town of New Ross, where his great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy left from in 1848 during the potato famine. Kennedy made a speech stating, "When my great-grandfather left here … [Read more...] about June 27, 1963

U2's guitar player "The Edge" was born David Evans in Essex, England on this day in 1961. His family moved to Dublin a year later, and in 1976 after spotting a note at school about starting a band, The Edge teamed up with Bono. After their debut album in 1980, "Boy," U2 began to gather a great deal of attention. For a short period in 1981, he considered leaving the band, but … [Read more...] about August 8, 1961

President John F. Kennedy stated that the United States would be the first to put a man on the moon saying, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth,” in a special address to Congress on May 25, 1961. Later, in a speech at Rice University, he said: “We … [Read more...] about May 25, 1961

June 17, 1959 marked the fourth presidential election in Ireland, during which Eamon de Valera was elected. Former Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader de Valera defeated Fine Gael's candidate Sean Mac Eoin. De Valera was formally inaugurated on June 25, 1959. … [Read more...] about June 17, 1959