On this day:2004: SpaceShipOne completes the world’s first manned private spaceflight 1921: The UK, the Dominions, and India, become the British Commonwealth of Nations 1948: Lord Mountbatten resigns as Governor General of India (formerly the last Viceroy) 1991: P.V. Narasimha Rao becomes Prime Minister of India as head of the Read more…
On this day:1756: Black Hole Incident of Calcutta: 146 British soldiers, Anglo-Indian soldiers and Indian civilians are imprisoned in a small dungeon in Calcutta, India where most die from suffocation and heat exhaustion 1837: Victoria becomes Queen of the United Kingdom Born on this day:1952: Vikram Seth, Indian poet and Read more…
On this day:1981: India’s APPLE satellite, 1st to be stabilized on 3 axes, launched 1978:Jim Davis’ famous comic character Garfield makes his debut Born on this day:1947: Salman Rushdie, British-Indian novelist, author of Midnight’s Children, Satanic Verses Gone on this day:1949: Syed Zafarul Hasan, Indian-Pakistani Prominent Muslim philosopher, dies at Read more…
On this day: 1815: Napoleon suffers a shattering defeat at the Battle of Waterloo 1940: A speech by Charles de Gaulle sparks the French Resistance to German occupation Born on this day: 1929: Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist, philosopher Gone on this day: 1858: Rani Lakshmibai, queen of Jhansi in North Read more…
On this day:1631: Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth 1885: The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York 1928: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly across the Atlantic 1944: Iceland becomes a republic Born on this day:1973: Leander Paes, Indian tennis player, born in Kolkata, West Bengal, India Gone Read more…
On this day:1963: Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space 2010: The world’s first country-wide total tobacco ban goes into effect in Bhutan Born on this day:1723: Adam Smith and Scottish philosopher, economist Gone on this day:1925: Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer, politician and activist, founder of Swaraj Party dies Read more…
On this day:1667: The first human blood transfusion is administered by Jean-Baptiste Denys 1844: Charles Goodyear patents vulcanization 1991: Mount Pinatubo explodes Born on this day:1950: Lakshmi Mittal, Indian industrialist Gone on this day:1983: Srirangam Srinivasarao, Telugu poet, dies at 73
On this day:1950: South Africa implements the Group Areas Act, a major pillar of apartheid 1983: Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central solar system Born on this day:1865: W. B. Yeats, Irish poet, Nobel Prize laureate Gone on this day:1927: Henry CK “Clan” Petty-Fitzmaurice, Governor Read more…
On this day:1964: Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison 1991: Boris Yeltsin becomes Russia’s first President 1994: The world’s largest twinjet, Boeing 777, takes off on its maiden flight Born on this day:1929: Anne Frank, German/Dutch author, Holocaust victim 2000: P. L. Deshpande, the Indian Marathi writer, dies Read more…
On this day:1817: The first predecessor of the bicycle, Laufmaschine, is demonstrated Karl Drais 1866: The Agra High Court (now the Allahabad High Court) is established in India 1938: China launches the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt invading Japanese forces Born on this day:1910: Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, Read more…