Interesting February Facts

Our Interesting February Facts for this week cover a variety of fields, from medicine, to genetics and music. There is always something of historical importance happening somewhere in the world. In the Irish Newspaper Archives you can find out what the Irish reactions or opinions on these events were, and how they were presented at the time.

23^rd of February

It has been over 61 years since the new polio vaccine was administered for the first time, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The vaccine developed by Dr Salk, sparked the hope that this will be the end of polio.

24th of February Continue Reading

The Contraceptive Bill of 1985

The Contraceptive Bill made headlines and covered tens of newspaper pages at the beginning of 1985. Journalists tried to cover the subject from all perspectives and people and organisations from all over Ireland wanted to express publicly their view on the matter. Continue Reading

This week in history 9th - 15TH February

This week in history has been a turning point politically, for South Africa, a major stepping ground for sports and the entertainment industry. In recent years, this week has been a week dedicated to Saint Valentine's Day.

9^th of February

In 1895 W G Morgan invented the game of Volleyball in Massachusetts. He first called it “Mintonette”. Continue Reading

On this Day through the Years 2nd to 9th February

On this day through the years is meant to help you discover interesting facts about events that have been reported in the Irish press or are just of general interest.

2^nd of February

On this day in 1901 London was the capital of all royalty, as Queen Victoria’s funeral took place. Read our earlier blog post and find out more about the event from the Irish Newspapers of the time.

It is now 11 years since Roger Federer became the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, position held for a record 237 weeks! The Irish Independent reported: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IND%2F2004%2F01%2F31&id=Ar01801&sk=C5261335 Continue Reading

The Funeral of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria was crowned as monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1837 and had the longest reign in English history, 63 years, 7 months and 2 days.  However, Queen Elizabeth II will this year celebrate 63 years since becoming Queen, so the record of Queen Victoria might be broken in 2015. Continue Reading