On this day:
1498: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India becoming the first European to reach India by sea
1873: Blue jeans are patented by Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis
1992: India launches its 1st satellite independently
Born on this day:
1894: Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta
Gone on this day:
1506: Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer, discovered the Americas
1932: Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, dies at 73
