29 August

Irish republican Éamon de Valera died today in 1975. During his life, De Valera held may positions including president of the Dail Eireann and as taoiseach. Imprisoned after the Easter rising of 1916, he escaped a death sentence because of his American birth and was later set free under the 1917 amnesty. He was then elected as the leader of Sinn Fein and founded the Irish parliament.