21 October-Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel was a chemist and engineer who was a native of Sweden. The inventor of dynamite he became a wealthy businessman. His fortune was used to institute the Nobel Prizes.

Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1833. He excelled academically and as a young man he worked in his father’s armaments business. He invented dynamite and was also a manufacturer of armaments. He established companies in several countries in Europe and North America. He died on December 10th 1896 in Sanremo, Italy at the age of 63

Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite whose fortune was used to establish the Nobel Prizes, was born in the year 1833 On This Day.

 Valentin Serov – Portrait of Alfred Nobel (1909)

 

 

18 October-Canadian Women Become Persons

Emily Murphy was appointed the first female judge in Canada in in 1916. Her rulings however, were challenged by lawyers because under Canadian law women were not ‘persons’. The challenge was based on a court decision of 1876 which stated: ‘Women are persons in matters of pains and penalties, but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges’.

The British North American Act of 1867 established the Dominion of Canada. The ruling, which stated women were not persons, was made under that act. Murphy and four other Canadian women initiated a campaign to have the ruling overturned. Their petition to the Canadian Supreme Court in 1927 failed.

The women then took their case to the Privy Council of the British government. At the time it was Canada’s highest court. The Privy Council ruled that: ‘the exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word ‘persons’ should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?

Women were declared as ‘persons’ under Canadian law in the year 1929 On This Day.

Statue in Calgary, Canada of the Famous Five

17 October-Eminem

Eminem is a rapper, record producer and songwriter who is a native of the USA. He has had 10 number-one albums during his career to date and is one of the world’s best-selling artists. In 2002 Eminem became the first rapper to receive an Academy Award.

Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1972. Also known as Slim Shady he began rapping with a friend at the age of 14. In 1999 he won his first Grammy Award for Best Rap Album with his ‘Slim Shady’ LP. Since then Eminem has become one of the world’s best-selling artists of all time.

Eminem, rapper, record producer and songwriter was born in the year 1972 On This Day.

Eminem – Lollapalooza 2011

Eminem crowd

16 october-Cork Airport

Cork Airport is an international airport which is located 6.5km south of Cork city, Ireland. After Dublin, Belfast International and Belfast City it is the fourth busiest on the island of Ireland. The airport caters for almost 2.5 million passengers annually. Passengers passing through Cork can travel to over 50 destinations in Great Britain and Continental Europe.

The establishment of an airport at Cork was fist discussed in 1928. Several studies were undertaken before and airfield was established at Farmers Cross in 1948. In 1957 the Irish Government sanctioned the building of an airport for Cork. Construction began in 1959 and the airport began operations in 1961.

Cork Airport catered for over 10.000 passengers in its first year of operation. By 2016 the airport was handling over 2 million passengers. It is serviced by eleven airlines flying to a wide range of destinations. Recently Norwegian Air International began flying from Cork Airport to North America.

Cork Airport, the international gateway to the South of Ireland, was officially opened in the year 1961 On This Day.

Cork Airport

Cork Airport

 

13 October-Chilean Mining Accident

The ‘Chilean Mining Accident’ began on August 5th 2010. It led to 33 men being trapped at a depth of 700 meters (2,300 feet) underground, when a cave-in occurred at a gold and copper mine in Northern Chile. The miners were rescued and Mincon, an Irish engineering company based at Shannon Co Clare, played a crucial role in the rescue.

In order to locate the trapped miners exploratory bore-holes were drilled. A Mincon drill made the first breakthrough. The trapped miners attached a note to the drill which read: ‘We are well in the shelter, the 33 of us’. The rescue began and eventually the men were all brought safely to the surface.

The 33 Chilean miners who were trapped underground for 69 days were all rescued in the year 2010 On This Day.

Chile rescue