John B Keane was a playwright and novelist who was a native of Co Kerry, Ireland. He was also the author of ‘Letters of a Successful TD’ and ‘Letters of a Love-Hungry Farmer’. Keane was a member of Aosdána and an Honorary Life Member of the Royal Dublin Society.

John Brendan Keane was born in Listowel Co Kerry in 1928. He was educated locally and in 1946 began working as a chemist’s assistant. He later said that his chief task there was preparing ointment for the Earl of Doneraile’s piles. In 1951 Keane moved to England where he worked at various jobs. He returned to Ireland in 1955 and bought a pub in his native Listowel. The pub gave him the opportunity to observe the changes in rural Ireland during his lifetime.

Keane’s first play ‘Sive’ was rejected by the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. However it won first prize in the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone in 1955. The play was a great success but was not staged by the Abbey Theatre until 1985. By then Keane was a popular playwright, novelist and essayist. He went on to write 26 publications including, The Field (1965), Big Maggie (1969) and Moll (1991).

John B Keane, playwright and novelist died at his home in Listowel, Co Kerry in the year 2002 On This Day.

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John B Keane

Bob Hope was an award winning comedian, actor and entertainer who was a native of England. In a career which spanned almost 80 years he was successful in a wide range of entertainment media. Hope made over 50 tours to entertain American Military personnel on active duty.

Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in London, England in 1903. When he was four years old he emigrated with his family to the United States. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where in the early 1920’s he began his career in show business. He performed on Broadway in ‘Sidewalks of New York’ in 1927.

During his career Bob Hope appeared in over 70 films. He also performed in a large number of television programmes and stage productions. He was the host of the Academy Awards on nineteen occasions. He was the recipient of several awards including five Academy Awards. He was conferred with over 50 honorary degrees and in 1998 he received an honorary knighthood. He was 100 year old when he died in 2003.

Bob Hope, award winning comedian, actor and entertainer was born in the year 1903 On This Day.

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Boris Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation serving from 1991 to 1999. During his first term as President he made a stopover at Shannon Airport on September 30th 1994. At the time he was returning to Moscow following a visit to the US. He was due to hold talks with An Taoiseach Albert Reynolds. However the meeting had to be cancelled because the Russian President failed to emerge from his jet. It was reported that he was sleeping and was not wakened on medical advice.

Boris Yeltsin was born in Sverdlovsk [now Yekaterinburg], Russia on the border between Europe and Asia on February 1^st 1931. Having studied at the Ural Polytechnic Institute he majored in construction and worked in the building industry. He became active in politics, eventually being appointed mayor of Moscow by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. However he was critical of Gorbachev and the slow pace of reform and was forced to resign in 1987. He continued to campaign for reform and was elected President of the Russian Federation in June 1991.

In power Yeltsin rapidly introduced the reforms which Gorbachev had initiated. In the event, during the change from communism to capitalism, some people became very wealthy but many Russians experienced poverty. The fall in the standard of living led to a fall in popularity for Yeltsin but he was re-elected as President in July 1996. He served until December 31st 1999 when he resigned and named Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting president.

Boris Yeltsin was elected the chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet in the year 1990 On This Day.

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Boris Yeltsin

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

John Calvin was a theologian who was a native of France. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures of the Protestant reformation. During his lifetime he became an important religious and political leader. His religious teaching led to the establishment of the Presbyterian Church.

John Calvin was born Jehan Cauvin in Noyon, Picardy, France on July 10^th 1509. Having studied law at the University of Orléans he moved to Geneva to join the Reformation in 1536. Anti-Protestant sentiment forced to move to Germany. However he returned to Geneva in 1541 where he established a religious government.

During his time in Geneva Calvin instituted several positive initiatives. However 56 people were executed for dissent and many more were exiled. Geneva became a centre for the spread of Protestantism in Europe. John Knox from Scotland studied with Calvin in Geneva and brought the teachings of Calvin back to Scotland. Presbyterianism was brought to Ireland in the early 1600’s and the Presbytery of Ulster was created in 1642.

Today the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is an All-Ireland organisation with a membership of around 300,000 people. The Scots’ Church, which is the Presbyterian Church in Carlow town, Ireland is located on the Athy Road in Carlow. The church, which was built in 1818 had its own minister until 1936. On December 31st of that year Rev. James Black retired and this was followed by the union of the Carlow congregation with that of Athy, Co Kildare.

John Calvin, a theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most important figures of the Protestant reformation died in Geneva in the year 1564 On This Day.

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John Calvin