On this day in 1622, Mary Haughton Ó Connor died. Her funeral entry details her husband and children. See more 17th-century funeral entries in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/ocon1622
On this day in 1861, James Hawkins Whitshed died in Japan. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from Delgany, Co. Wicklow, in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/hawk1861
On this day in 1622, Katherin Walsh Archbold died. Her funeral entry details her father, husband and children. See more 17th-century funeral entries in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/arch1622
On this day in 1814, Mary Dycear died aged 17. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from the Cabbage Garden graveyard near St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/dycear1814
On this day in 1824, Henry Lewis von Stieglitz died. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from Derryloran old graveyard, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/vons1824
See a photo of this gravestone on Flickr, courtesy of Garibaldi McFlurry: https://flic.kr/p/f7pnYQ
On this day in 1717, Margret Browne died aged 20. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from St. Mary's, Dunleckny, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow, in the Journals: https://bit.ly/browne1717
Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday" in honour of the novel's main character Leopold Bloom.
On this day in 1707, Margery Barry Young died aged 25. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from Ballylynan, Tankardstown, Co. Laois (Queen's), in the Journals: https://bit.ly/young1707
On this day in 1801, Elen Keon Cosgrove died aged 37. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from St. Molaise graveyard, Monea, Devenish, Co. Fermanagh, in the Journals: https://bit.ly/cosgrove1801
On this day in 1803, Judith Bradley died. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from Drumcondra, Dublin, in the Journals: https://tinyurl.com/brad1803
Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society.
The difference engine is based on the method of divided differences, a way to interpolate or tabulate functions by using a small set of polynomial co-efficients. Some of the most common mathematical functions are built from logarithmic & trigonometric functions, which can be approximated by polynomials, so a difference engine can compute many useful tables.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was born #OTD. As a physicist, he ranks alongside Newton & Einstein (“He achieved greatness unequalled”—Max Planck). He also wrote poetry: “Rigid Body Sings” is based on “Comin’ Through the Rye” by Robert Burns
On this day in 1738, Matilda Morton died aged 36. She was buried at Drumlane, Co. Cavan. Find out more about Drumlane in the Journals: https://bit.ly/morton1738
On this day in 1820, Elenor Wheelar Phelan died. Her husband, John, erected a gravestone at St. Martin's near Kilkenny. See more inscriptions from this graveyard in the Journals: https://bit.ly/phelan1820
"Each time the discovery of new facts, the overthrow or extension of accepted theories, reminded us that science is never finished."
French physicist Charles Fabry was born #OTD in 1867.
Together with Henri Buisson, they made a groundbreaking discovery by identifying the presence of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere (1913). They used spectroscopic techniques to measure the absorption of ultraviolet light by atmospheric ozone, providing the first definitive evidence of the ozone layer.
On this day in 1796, Mary Fairy Burne died aged 59. She was buried with her husband, Tom. See this and other gravestone inscriptions from Templeboy, Co. Sligo, in the Journals: https://bit.ly/burne1796
“The simple act of walking through a schoolhouse door that had been barred to me, and all people of my color, by the governor of this state - that simple act represented an end to legal segregation in the American South.”
#OnThisDay, 11 June 1963, Vivian Malone defies the Governor of Alabama to become the first Black female student at the University of Alabama.