Sunday, June 17, 1923. Dry Sunday

The Irish Free State saw its pubs swamped with visitors as Northern Ireland experienced its first "Dry Sunday", a day brought about due to a new law in Ulster.

Northern Ireland, reflecting its Presbyterian heritage, had a particularly notable set of Blue Laws.  Soccer was banned on Sundays prior to 2008.  Public playgrounds were closed on Sundays, and swings locked, in Belfast until 1965.  Stores over 280 square meters in size are still restricted to the hours of 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Mount Etna erupted.

Released on this day in 1923.  The plot involved a woman who is widowed at 38 and takes a job as a college librarian and starts dating over the objection of her children.

Monday, June 14, 1909 Shackleton returns. The Age of Exploration. The Age of Assassination.

Ernest Shackleton returned to London and received a hero's welcome.  King Edward VII knighted the Antarctic explorer.

After World War One Shackleton, his health no doubt strained due to the rigors of his trials in exploration, died in the Falklands at age 47.  As a practical matter, the Great War effectively ended the final age of exploration.

Japanese Prince Itō Hirobumi was forced to resign as Japan's Resident-General of Korea.  Three months later, he would be assassinated, which would lead Japan to annex what had been a protectorate.

Four Caribbean monk seals (Monachus tropicalis) were brought to the New York Aquarium.  They were the only ones ever held in captivity.

The last known monk seal died in 1952 and NOAA declared them extinct in 2008.

Burl Ives was born.  The charming folk singer and actor was a popular folk figure for many years, in spite of a 1930s association with far left wing politics.

Last prior edition:

Thursday, June 10, 1909. The Lincoln penny introduced.

Labels: 1900s, 1909, 1950s, 1958, Art, Currency