28 May-Ian Fleming

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Ian Fleming was an author who was a native of England. He is best known as the author of the James Bond spy novels. His novels, two of which were published posthumously, are ranked among best-selling fictional books of all time. Fleming was also the author of the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in the Mayfair district of London in 1908. Having been educated at Eton College he later studied at the military academy at Sandhurst. During World War II he became a high-ranking British naval intelligence officer. It is felt that his work in intelligence provided a lot of the background for his James Bond novels.

After the war Fleming worked in the newspaper industry before writing his first novel, Casino Royale in 1953. He went on to write fifteen more Bond novels and one novel for children. His novels have been made into successful movies. The hero, Bond has been portrayed by actors such as Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan.

Ian Fleming, best known as the author of the James Bond spy novels was born in the year 1908 On This Day.

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Ian Fleming

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Sean Connery as James Bond

10 May-Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day is an annual event held in countries around the world to honour mothers. It is a held to honour the mother of the family and mother figures worldwide. The event is usually celebrated in the March April or May depending on the country. In Ireland, Mother’s Day is celebrated in the month of March.

In ancient Greek civilisation, celebrations were held to honour Rhea, Mother of the Gods. In modern times, Mother’s Day is usually attributed to Anna Jarvis. She was the founder of the Mother’s Day Holiday in the United States. In 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 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.

Mother’s Day was observed for the first time at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia in the year 1908 On This Day.

Mothers Day photo

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24 January-Boy Scouts

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Scouting is a global movement for children aged usually between 10 and 18 years. It is run on the principles laid down by Lord Baden-Powell. Through a programme of structured activities and shared experiences Scouting aims to support the physical, mental and spiritual development of young people. Scouts become involved in activities including camping, woodcraft, first aid, hiking, backpacking and sports.

The Boy Scout Movement was founded in England by Robert Baden-Powell in 1908. A new organization called Girl Guides was created for girls in 1910. Both organisations quickly spread to other countries. Today in most countries, there is a single organization for boys and girls. In Ireland the Scouting Movement is a non-political all-island organisation which has over 50,000 members. It is open to all young people regardless of gender, race, creed, sexual orientation or spiritual belief.

The first Boy Scout troop was organised by Robert Baden-Powell in the year 1908 On This Day.

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Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941)

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Boy Scout Awards

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John Gormley visits Dundalk boy scouts

01 July-Estée Lauder

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Estée Lauder was a native of New York, USA. She was a successful businessperson who, with her husband, founded Estée Lauder Cosmetics. Estée Lauder Cosmetics has its headquarters in New York City. It manufactures and sells skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products.

Estée Lauder was born Josephine Esther Mentzer in Corona, Queens, New York City in 1908. She was educated locally and worked in the family’s hardware business. Her uncle owned a business which manufactured and sold beauty products and fragrances. Following graduation from high school Lauder began working in her uncle’s company.

She co-founded Estée Lauder Cosmetics Inc. in 1946. The company expanded rapidly and during the 1960’began to expand internationally. Today Estée Lauder Cosmetics Inc. continues to thrive and has 46,000 employees.

Estée Lauder was born in the year 1908 On This Day.

Photo by stan

Estée Lauder

12 August-Ford Model T

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Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. His father William Ford emigrated from Ballinscarthy near Clonakilty County Cork, Ireland to America in 1846. Henry Ford manufactured the Ford Model T, the first car to be affordable to a person on an average income. It made possible relatively cheap travel and brought about a revolution in transportation.

Henry Ford began the mass production of the ‘Model T’ in October 1908. The assembly line as a method of production in the motor industry had been first introduced in 1901 by Ransome E Olds. He used the method to build the first mass produced car which was known as the Oldsmobile Dash. Henry Ford introduced a similar method to mass produce the Model T. He succeeded in developing and improving the method to the stage where it took only 93 minutes to fully assemble a car.

Production of the Model T continued for nineteen years and by 1917 it accounted for over half of all the cars in the world. Initially the car was available in several colours but from 1913 to 1925 it was available only in black. By 1925 over 2 million units of the Model T were being sold annually. It remained the top selling car in the world until February 17th 1972. On that date sales of the Volkswagen Beetle surpassed those of the Model T. The Model T is still in the list of the top ten best-selling cars of all time.

Henry Ford and his son Edsel paid a visit to his father’s home place in Ballinscarthy in 1912. He returned to Ireland in 1917 and established a plant in Cork City producing Fordson Tractors. It was the first manufacturing plant built by Ford outside the USA. The plant in Cork later produced Ford cars such as, the Prefect, the Cortina and the Sierra. Members of the Ford family continue to visit Cork.

The final and 15 millionth Ford Model T was driven off the assembly line at the Ford factory in Highland Park, Michigan USA on May 26th 1927. Henry Ford drove the car and was accompanied by his son Edsel.

Though mass production did not begin until October 1st 1908 the first production Model T was produced in the year 1908 On This Day.

Photo by dok1

1917 Model T Ford by dok1 on 2008-05-30 16:29:29