On This Day In History
This day 60 years ago – 4 December 1959 – the first female recruits for An Garda Síochána had their passing out parade in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
Until that year, men had been exclusively recruited. The twelve women came from all over Ireland, including Donegal, Westmeath and Cork pic.twitter.com/LKipikBR3g
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 4, 2019
This day 49 years ago - 4 December 1971 - a bomb exploded in McGurk's Bar in Belfast, killing 15 people.
Northern Ireland P.M. Brian Faulkner said it was the work of “insane fanatics.”
UVF member Robert James Campbell was charged with the bombing, and served 15 years in prison. pic.twitter.com/BlbHEDhbLD
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 4, 2020
In Dec 1904, Renée Erdős launched a one-woman journal—Az írások könyve (The Book of Writings). The 1st woman to earn a living as a writer in Hungary, her work is known for its exploration of female sexuality. By 1926 she had published 13 successful novels. https://t.co/oCJw4ySBLe pic.twitter.com/LnboHwU92F
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 4, 2022
On this day in 1969, Chicago Police officers assassinated Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in a pre-dawn apartment raid during which they fired over 90 bullets. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/SxJPt9NLtR
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 4, 2022
4 December 1679. English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, died (aged 91). He was a key fiigure in the development of political philosophy. His most influential book was, Leviathan, which sets out his doctrine of the foundation of states and legitimate governments. pic.twitter.com/lQFTGwzeVT
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1791. The Observer, Britain’s oldest Sunday newspaper, was first published by WS Bourne, who thought it would make him rich, but he soon found himself in debt and was forced to sell the paper. pic.twitter.com/vy1JvmwV2y
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1795. Legendary historian, Thomas Carlyle, was born in Ecclefechan, Scotland. He’s best known for writing a major 3 volume history of the French Revolution, and for later arguing that “the history of the world is but the biography of great men”. pic.twitter.com/4RBhbj0aYN
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1829. British authorities abolished the Hindu funeral ritual called Sati (“Suttee”) in India. This was the custom of a widow burning herself to death by throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre. pic.twitter.com/tErAWLLocP
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1865. Nurse, Edith Cavell, was born at Swardeston, near Norwich. She was sentenced to death in Belgium in 1915 by a German military court, accused of treason. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. pic.twitter.com/aoUYjkiQDR
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1872. American ship, Mary Celeste, was found drifting by a Canadian ship in the Atlantic. It’s captain, Benjamin Briggs, and his 9 man crew were not on board. All had disappeared without trace. It remains a mystery as to what happened to make them abandon the ship. pic.twitter.com/3RWNhP3rmP
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1961. Enoch Powell, the Minister for Health, confirmed in the House of Commons that “birth control pills” could now be prescribed to women on the NHS. It was a landmark day for women’s rights and sexual freedom pic.twitter.com/BpVEycMvYA
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1975. Philosopher, Hannah Arendt, died (aged 69). She’s best known for her theory of Totalitarianism which viewed the regimes of Hitler and Stalin as broadly similar, and for her study of the trial of Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, called The Banality of Evil. pic.twitter.com/P3ROBW6BVX
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 1980. Rock giants, Led Zeppelin, officially disbanded by issuing a press statement, stating: “We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend (drummer John Bonham, pictured left), has led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.” pic.twitter.com/c8mwXPUo2J
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
4 December 2013. Xavier Bettel (right), became Luxembourg’s first openly gay Prime Minister. In 2015, he became the first leader in the European Union to enter into a same-sex marriage with his partner, Gauthier Destenay, a Belgian (left). pic.twitter.com/PcLb3w7NEI
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 4, 2022
December 5th
771 Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman
1349 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots
1456 Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1848 US President James K. Polk triggers gold rush of 1849 by confirming a gold discovery in California
1933 Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)
1969 Four-node ARPANET network is established
Did You Know?
English pirate Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop "Margaret" and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides 1st record of Blackbeard's appearance, and the source for his name
Today in History in 1717
Would You Believe?
Flight 19 the "Lost Squadron" of 5 torpedo bombers and 14 airmen is lost east of Florida in the supposed Bermuda Triangle
Today in History in 1945
This day 379 years ago – 5 December 1640 – John Atherton, the Anglican Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, was publicly hanged in Dublin for the crime of sodomy.
Atherton and his steward, John Childe, were accused of being lovers. Childe would be hanged the following year in Cork. pic.twitter.com/dal3B8NzBC
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) December 5, 2019
She had them ready: this became the first Kindertransport. In 1966, 'Truus' was honoured by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations for saving 10,000 Jewish children. https://t.co/yrBE0Wq52Phttps://t.co/c74lFFKviq
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) December 5, 2022
On this day in 1910, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled an 8-year-old girl was prohibited from attending her local public school because she was one-sixteenth Black. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/WIDWpTVPAq
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) December 5, 2022
5 December 1766. The Scottish auctioneer, James Christie, held his first sale in Pall Mall, London. His first auction included a pair of sheets, 2 pillowcases, 2 chamber pots, and 4 Indian glassworks. The following year, he held his first of what would be many art auctions. pic.twitter.com/duOVCPrfzQ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) December 5, 2022