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On this day

May 6

1844
Births

May 6, 1844

Birth of Patrick Mullen, Medal of Honor Recipient

Patrick Mullen, an Irish immigrant, was born on May 6, 1844, in Ireland. He later emigrated to the United States and served in the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War. Mullen distinguished himself with extraordinary heroism, earning two Medals of Honor. His first award was for actions aboard the USS Wyandank during an engagement at Mattox Creek, Virginia, on March 17, 1865. His second Medal of Honor was awarded for his bravery on May 1, 1865, while serving as a boatswain's mate on the USS Don, where he helped rescue the crew of a swamped picket launch.

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1882
Battles

May 6, 1882

Phoenix Park Murders

On May 6, 1882, in Dublin's Phoenix Park, Lord Frederick Cavendish, the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry Burke, the Permanent Under-Secretary, were fatally stabbed. The assassinations were carried out by the Irish National Invincibles, a republican splinter group. This act of violence, intended to target Burke, inadvertently included Cavendish, who had just arrived in Ireland. The murders sent shockwaves through both Britain and Ireland, significantly impacting Anglo-Irish relations and delaying the progress of Irish Home Rule for decades. The perpetrators were eventually apprehended and several were executed.

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1915
Battles

May 6, 1915

Sinking of the SS Centurion

On May 6, 1915, during World War I, the British Harrison Line steamer SS Centurion was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-20 off the coast of County Wexford, Ireland. The U-20, commanded by Captain Schweiger, fired two torpedoes at the Centurion. The crew abandoned the ship after the first hit, but the vessel remained afloat for an hour, necessitating a second torpedo. This incident was significant as it occurred just one day before the same U-boat sank the RMS Lusitania, a major event that heightened anti-German sentiment and influenced the course of the war.

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