Nick Maxwell

2002 Alex Maskey (50) became the first Sinn Féin lord mayor of Belfast. 1981 It was reported that five men in California were suffering from a rare form of pneumonia that was found in patients with weakened immune systems—the first recognised cases of AIDS, which was to kill over 30 million worldwide. 1920 Cornelius Ryan, war … Read more

1820 Henry Grattan (74), politician and orator who unsuccessfully introduced a bill for Catholic Emancipation in the Irish parliament (1794), died. 1989 Protesters demanding greater democratic freedoms were fired on by police and troops in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. Several thousand were killed. 1820 Henry Grattan, outstanding orator and dominant figure in the Irish parliament (1782–1800), died. … Read more

1970 Former minister Kevin Boland was expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party following his refusal to withdraw remarks about Taoiseach Jack Lynch’s ‘unparalleled treachery’. 1970 Ex-minister Kevin Boland was expelled from the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party following his refusal to withdraw remarks about Taoiseach Jack Lynch’s ‘unparalleled treachery’. 1974 Michael Gaughan, an IRA prisoner in … Read more

1866 After a three-day incursion into Canada, during which they flew a flag emblazoned with ‘IRA’ and the gold harp of Ireland, a Fenian army under Colonel John O’Neill were arrested by US forces whilst retreating across the Niagara River. 1966 Éamon de Valera (83) became president of Ireland for a second term. 1829 Lady … Read more

1916 The two-day Battle of Jutland, the first and only meeting between the German High Seas Fleet and the British Grand Fleet, began. 1962 Adolf Eichmann was executed in Ramleh Prison near Tel Aviv for his part in the wartime mass execution of millions of Jews. 1941 Over a 37-minute period in the early hours … Read more