Karl Benz was a mechanical engineer who was a native of Germany. He designed and built what is considered the first practical motorcar. He named his creation the Benz Patent Motorwagen for which he was granted a patent on January 29^th 1886. The automobile was the forerunner of the modern day Mercedes-Benz motorcars.

Karl Friedrich Benz was born in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1844. He was educated locally and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Karlsruhe on July 9^th 1864. He co-founded the company Benz & Cie which merged with Daimler Motors in 1926.

The new company was called Daimler-Benz, which is now part of Daimler AG. The company produces the Mercedes-Benz motorcars, one of the largest automobile brands in the world. Mercedes was the name of a daughter of Emil Jellinek of Daimler Motors.

Karl Benz, who designed and built what is considered the first practical motorcar, was born in the year 1844 On This Day.

Photo by InSapphoWeTrust

Benz Patent-Wagen

Photo by Edgardo W. Olivera

Mercedes Benz

Lord Mountbatten was murdered by a terrorist bomb at Mullaghmore off the coast of County Sligo, Ireland on August 22^nd 1979. He was officially known as, Admiral of the Fleet, The Right Honourable the Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Mountbatten, whose home Classiebawn Castle was located in the small seaside village of Mullaghmore, was on a family fishing trip at the time.

Two children, Mountbatten’s grandson Nicholas aged 14 and a local boy Peter Maxwell aged 15 were also murdered. Lady Brabourne, who was a member of the group on the fishing trip died of her injuries the following day. She was aged 83 at the time. Thomas McMahon, a member of the Provisional IRA convicted of the murders.

Thomas McMahon was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lord Mountbatten and three others in the year 1979 On This Day.

Photo by markhillary

Lord Mountbatten

Jacob’s biscuits were first baked in Waterford, Ireland in 1851. Today, Jacob’s is an iconic brand for several types of biscuits and cream crackers. They are sold in Ireland, Great Britain and around the world.

William Beale Jacob and his brother Robert established a biscuit bakery, W & R Jacob, in Bridge Street, Waterford in 1851. The company moved to Dublin and established a bakery in Peter’s Row. By the 1860’s Jacob’s had become the second largest employer in Dublin after Guinness.

Jacob’s manufactured a range of biscuits for sale in Ireland and Britain. In 1885 the company began to manufacture cream crackers. The cream cracker was invented in Dublin by Joseph Haughton and is one of the most famous of the Jacob’s brand. It was introduced to the market in Great Britain in 1883.

In 1914 Jacob’s opened a factory in Liverpool, England. The company continued to expand in Ireland and in 1970 moved a new premises in Tallaght on the south side of Dublin city. After 156 years of making biscuits in Ireland Jacob’s ceased the manufacture of biscuits at its Dublin plant in 2009.

Jacob’s Bakery, manufacturer of biscuits and cream crackers in Ireland, celebrated the 150^th anniversary of its foundation in the year 2001 On This Day.

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Cream Cracker

Photo by Neil T

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States of America. His ancestors on his father’s side came from Wexford and on his mother’s side from Limerick. During his time as President he had deal with events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall. He initiated the Apollo Programme which led eventually to the moon landings.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29th 1917. He graduated from Harvard with Bachelor of Arts in government in 1940. Kennedy served in the US Navy during World War II and was decorated for heroism. After the war he served as a Democratic Congressman and in 1953 was elected to the US Senate. Following the Presidential election of 1960 Kennedy was inaugurated President of the USA in January 1961 at age 43. He was assassinated while on a visit to Dallas, Texas on November 22^nd 1963.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected 35th President of the USA when he defeated Richard Nixon by 303 Electoral College votes to 219 in the year 1960 On This Day.

Photo by U.S. Embassy New Delhi

President John F Kennedy

Marie Curie was a scientist who with her husband Pierre, discovered radium in 1898. Radium, which is a highly radioactive element is found in uranium ore. Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who was a native of Poland. Pierre Curie was a physicist who was a native of France.

Marie Curie was born Maria Salomea Skłodowska in Warsaw, Poland in 1867. She was educated in Poland and at the age of 24 she moved to Paris to study and conduct scientific work. She studied at the Sorbonne and was awarded a degree in mathematics and physics in 1894.

Marie Skłodowska married Pierre Curie in 1895. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. With her husband Pierre and Henri Becquerel she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. When Marie Curie was appointed a professor at the University of Paris in 1906 she became the first woman to hold such a position. In 1911 she won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. She died from exposure to radiation in 1934 at the age of 66.

Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, was born in Warsaw in the year 1867 On This Day.

Photo by Tekniska museet

Marie Curie