On This Day

Last British troops leave Irish Free State

The Irish War of Independence (Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army...

The Irish War of Independence (Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Constabulary (USC). It was part of the Irish revolutionary period.

In April 1916, Irish republicans launched the Easter Rising against British rule and proclaimed an Irish Republic. Although it was defeated after a week of fighting, the Rising and the British response led to greater popular support for Irish independence. In the 1918 general election, republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland.

Events Before

  1. Republic of Turkey is declared from the remnants of the Ottoman Empire

    Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a smaller part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe.

  2. Charlie Chaplin releases his first full-length feature, "The Kid," a silent film starring Charlie Chaplin and 6-year-old

    Charlie Chaplin releases his first full-length feature, "The Kid," a silent film starring Charlie Chaplin and 6-year-old Jackie Coogan

  3. Actor Jack Haley (22) weds Florence McFadden

    Actor Jack Haley (22) weds Florence McFadden

  4. Comedian Oliver Hardy (29) marries actress Myrtle Reeves (24)

    Comedian Oliver Hardy (29) marries actress Myrtle Reeves (24)

  5. French army captain, and future president, Charles de Gaulle (30) weds Yvonne Vendroux (20) in the Notre-Dame de Calais

    French army captain, and future president, Charles de Gaulle (30) weds Yvonne Vendroux (20) in the Notre-Dame de Calais church

Events After

  1. Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS

    The "Big Four" was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923–1947.

  2. President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925

    President of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (41) weds Latife Hanim; divorce in 1925

  3. Howard Carter opens the inner burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb and finds the sarcophagus

    Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who became known for discovering the intact tomb of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun in November 1922, the...

  4. Italian actor Rudolph Valentino (24) divorces actress Jean Acker (26)

    Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino or mononymously as Valentino was an Italian-born...

  5. Writer Anaïs Nin (Delta of Venus) marries banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in Havana, Cuba

    Writer Anaïs Nin (Delta of Venus) marries banker and artist Hugh Parker Guiler in Havana, Cuba

More from the 1920s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on December 17, 1922?
The Irish War of Independence (Irish: Cogadh na Saoirse), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-military Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and its paramilitary forces the Auxiliaries and Ulster Special Constabulary (USC). It was part of the Irish revolutionary period. In April 1916, Irish republicans launched the Easter Rising against British rule and proclaimed an Irish Republic.
Why is Last British troops leave Irish Free State historically important?
Although it was defeated after a week of fighting, the Rising and the British response led to greater popular support for Irish independence. In the 1918 general election, republican party Sinn Féin won a landslide victory in Ireland.

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