Much to mark in the coming year

Ten years ago Dan Brown gave us the chance to crack the Da Vinci code but 100 years after its invention many of us are still stumped by the crossword.

The coming year will see several great — though in some cases unwanted anniversaries.

The assassination of John F Kennedy 50 years ago and Hitler becoming chancellor of Germany are events the world will not remember fondly.

But 50 years ago Martin Luther King Jr made his “I have a dream” speech, and 150 years ago Abraham Lincoln declared that all slaves in states that had seceded from the US would be freed.

Closer to home, it is 100 years since Britain’s House of Lords rejected the Home Rule Bill.

Entering 2013, the troika may not be popular, but most people would say there have certainly been benefits for Ireland since this country was admitted to the EEC, now the EU, 40 years ago.

It is also 30 years since Apple introduced the Lisa, the first commercial personal computer to have a graphical user interface and mouse. The strides the company has made in the intervening years is typified by the fact that 2013 also marks the 10th anniversary of iTunes.