Stephen Roche is a former champion road racing cyclist who is a native of Dublin, Ireland. He was the first Irishman to win the Tour de France. During his 13 year professional career he had a litany of successes and was the winner of the triple crown of victories in 1987. In that year Roche won the Tour de France, the Giro D’Italia and the World road race Championship in Villach, Austria.

Stephen Roche was born in Dundrum Co Dublin in 1959. He was the youngest ever winner of Rás Tailteann in 1979. In 1980 he represented Ireland at the Olympic Games in Moscow. In 1981 Roche turned professional and had ten victories in his first year. Despite injury he continued to win races culminating in his Triple Crown of victories in 1987. He continued to race until his retirement in 1993.

Stephen Roche, former champion road racing cyclist who became the first Irishman to win the Tour de France was born in Dublin in the year 1959 On This Day.

Photo by Numerius

Stephen Roche

Bruce Lee was a martial artist, actor and film director who was a native of the USA. He is best known for movies such as ‘Fists of Fury’ and ‘Enter the Dragon’. Time magazine named Lee as one of the most influential people of the 20^th century.

Bruce Lee was born Lee Jun-fan in in San Francisco, California in 1940. He moved to Hong Kong with his family when he was still an infant. In Hong Kong he appeared in several movies as a child. He moved to the United States at the age of 18 to attend the University of Washington. He taught martial arts while attending university.

In 1966 Bruce Lee appeared in the television series ‘The Green Hornet’. His first film ‘The Big Boss’ was a major success when released in 1972. Lee was equally successful with films such as ‘Fist of Fury’ and ‘Way of the Dragon’. He died shortly before the release of his film ‘Enter the Dragon’ in 1973. He was just 32 years old.

Bruce Lee, martial artist, actor and film director, was born in San Francisco in the year 1940 On This Day.

Photo by IQRemix

Hong Kong – Bruce Lee

Fidel Castro was a revolutionary leader who came to power in Cuba in 1959. He led a campaign which led to the overthrow of the American backed President Fulgencio Batista. Castro was a Marxist–Leninist under whose rule Cuba became a one-party communist state.

Fidel Castro was born Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz in Birán in eastern Cuba on August 13^th 1926. Having qualified as a lawyer he became involved in leftist politics. He was imprisoned for his activities in 1953. Following release from prison Castro moved to Mexico where he established a revolutionary group. He returned to Cuba where following a guerrilla war he came to power in 1959.

Following the overthrow of Batista, Castro assumed military and political power. He began to nationalise American economic assets and forge closer links with the Soviet Union. In response the United States Government made several attempts, without success, to remove Castro from office. He remained in power until 2008 when handed over control to his brother Raul.

Fidel Castro, Cuban revolutionary leader who came to power in 1959, died aged 90 in the year 2016 On This Day.

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Fidel Castro with schoolchildren

Pope John XXIII was elected to the Papacy on October 28th 1958. He was the 261st Pope of the Catholic Church. At the time of his election he was widely regarded as a transitional pope. However less than three months after the start of his Papacy he announced the Second Vatican Council and ushered in a new era for the Roman Catholic Church. He became one of the most popular popes of all time.

Pope John XXIII was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in Sotto il Monte, Bergamo, Italy in 1881. He was ordained a priest in 1904. He served in several different roles, including as papal delegate to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. He also served as papal nuncio in France. In 1953 he was raised to the rank of Cardinal and appointed Patriarch of Venice. He was elected to the papacy in 1958 and served as Pope for just over four years. He was canonised by Pope Francis in 2014

Pope John XXIII, who is known as the ‘Good Pope’ was born in the year 1881 On This Day.

Photo by manhhai

Pope John XXIII

Mother’s Day is an annual event held in countries around the world to honour mothers. Mother’s Day is usually attributed to Anna Jarvis. She was the founder of the Mother’s Day Holiday in the United States. On May 10^th 1907 she held a memorial service for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. The following year she organised a church service which was attended by over 400 children and their mothers.

Anna Marie Jarvis was born on May 1^st 1864 in Webster, West Virginia. The family moved 100 miles to Grafton West Virginia when Anna Marie was a child. Having graduated from Mary Baldwin University, she returned to Grafton to work as a teacher. She later worked in the banking and insurance industries.

Following the death of her mother in 1905, Anna Jarvis began to campaign for Mother’s day to become a national holiday. The campaign was successful and in 1914, the second Sunday in May was designated a national holiday in the US by President Wilson. In the following years Mother’s Day began to spread gradually to other parts of the world.

Anna Jarvis, the founder of the Mother’s Day holiday in the United States died aged 84 in the year 1948 On This Day.

Photo by jonasduyvejonck

Anna Jarvis