Erskine Hamilton Childers : Ask Biography

Personal data

Date of birth

11 December 1905

Place of birth

London, England

Date of death

17 November 1974(age 68)

Place of death

Dublin, Ireland

Nationality

Irish

Political party

Fianna Fáil

Spouse

Ruth Ellen Dow (1925 � 1950)
Rita Dudley (1952 � 1974)

Children

Ruth Ellen Childers
Erskine Childers
Roderick Winthrop Childers
Margaret Osgood Childers
Carainn Childers
Nessa Childers

Religion

Anglicanism

4th President of Ireland

In office

25 June 1973 - 17 November 1974

Succeeded by

Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh

Preceded by

Éamon de Valera

Home | Office Holder | Erskine Hamilton Childers

Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 - 17 November 1974) served as the fourth President of Ireland from 1973 until his death in 1974. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1938 until 1973. Childers served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (1951 - 1954, 1959 - 1961, and 1966 - 1969), Minister for Lands (1957 - 1959), Minister for Transport and Power (1959 - 1969), and Minister for Health (1969 - 1973). He was appointed Tánaiste in 1969.

His father Robert Erskine Childers, a leading Irish Republican and author of the espionage thriller The Riddle of the Sands, was executed during the Irish Civil War.