Sixty years ago today, the world was shocked by the news that U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was seen by many as representative of a new America. Elected to office at the age of 43 and the first Roman Catholic to be in the positon, he seemed to epitomise the spirit of optimism that marked the dawn of the 1960's. Sadly, he was cut down in his prime (at the age of 46) and "Jack" (as he was known to family and friends), was unable to fulfil the hopes which many had placed in him. 

On the same day, another well known figure departed this world, although his passing was largely overshadowed by the Kennedy assassination. C.S. Lewis (also known to those close to him as "Jack"), was a Christian apologist and theologian,  an accomplished writer of children's books and science fiction and an outstanding lecturer and public speaker. Lewis died at the age of 65, after a short illness. He is highly regarded in many parts of the world and none more so than in his native Northern Ireland, where he is commemorated in Belfast by the C.S.Lewis Trail.  In 1998, I had the opportunity to follow this for myself, as we marked the centenary of his birth. 

In their own different ways, both these men made significant contributions to the history of our planet and today, sixty years later, we salute their memory.