Events from History
Apollo 17 was the sixth and last of the United States landing of humans on the moon. The three member crew consisted of Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt. As well as being an astronaut Schmitt was also a geologist and became the first member of NASA’s first scientist-astronaut group to fly in space. Harrison Schmitt was the 12th and to date the last person to set foot on the moon in the year 1972 On This Day
Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video 
Photo by NASA on The Commons
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games. It is a table tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. Developed by Atari in 1972, it became a popular and commercially successful video game. Apart from the development of Pong other Atari games included Pac-Man and Asteroids.
Atari is a video game company which was founded by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney in Santa Clara, California. It was incorporated on June 27th 1972. It was a pioneer in the development of game consoles and home computers. Atari released its first home video console, the Atari 2600 on September 11th 1977.
Pong, the first commercially successful video game, was released by Atari in the year 1972 On This Day.
Vintage Pong cabinet from the 70s
Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was a member of An Garda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace), the police force of Ireland. He was murdered by an IRA booby trap bomb while he was on duty on the Cavan/Fermanagh border in 1972. He became the 38th Garda Officer to be killed in the line of duty since the foundation of An Garda Síochána in 1922.
Samuel Donegan was born in Longford on November 20th 1911. At the age of 23 he joined An Garda Síochána. He served in Garda Stations in counties Mayo and Sligo in the early part of his career. In 1967 he was promoted to the rank of inspector and was posted to serve in Co Cavan. He was killed near the border with Co Fermanagh by an IRA booby trap bomb in 1972 at the age of 61.
In 2010 Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was commemorated in a memorial garden for members of An Garda Siochána killed in the service of the State. The memorial garden is located in the grounds of Dublin Castle. At the commemoration a medal was presented to a representative of Inspector Donegan’s family.
Garda Inspector Sam Donegan was murdered by an IRA booby trap bomb on the Cavan/Fermanagh border in the year 1972 On This Day.
Photo by infomatique
An Garda Síochána Memorial Garden – Dublin Castle
Sri Lanka is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the south east coast of the Indian sub-continent. Officially known as Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka it has a population of over 21,000,000. During the period of British colonial rule the country was known as Ceylon. In 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka becoming the first woman in the world to hold such a position. Colombo with a population of over 5 million is the largest city in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan civilisation can be traced back to the 6th century BC. It was invaded several times during its long history. In 1815 the British colonised Sri Lanka. The country remained under British control for almost 150 years. The Donoughmore Constitution was introduced in 1931. It enabled general elections with adult universal suffrage to take place. The constitution was devised by the Irish peer Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 6th Earl of Donoughmore. Sri Lanka was given Dominion status in 1948 and became a republic in 1972.
Sri Lanka, an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the south east coast of the Indian sub-continent, became in independent republic in the year 1972 On This Day.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Gilbert O’Sullivan is a singer and songwriter who is a native of Waterford City, Ireland. He is best known for his hit songs such as: ‘Nothing Rhymed’, ‘Alone Again’, ‘Clair’ and ‘Get Down’ recorded during the 1970’s and 1980’s. His songs remain well-loved around the world and the public continue to hold him in high regard.
Gilbert O’Sullivan was born Raymond Edward O’Sullivan in Waterford on December 1st 1946. At the age of seven he moved to Swindon in England with his family. Following graduation from school he attended Swindon College of Art. Interested in music from a young age he performed with several bands while at college.
In 1970 O’Sullivan had his first success with ‘Nothing Rhymed’. He went on to record six number one songs worldwide. Between 1970 and 1980 he had his most successful period. Today O’Sullivan continues to record and perform. He regularly performs in Great Britain, Ireland and abroad.
Gilbert O’Sullivan, singer and songwriter, reached Number One in the British charts with his song Clair in the year 1972 On This Day.
Gilbert O’Sullivan
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