This Day in "History"

[Anup Tiwari]

Today in Indian History

Events for August 15

15-August-1947
Indian Independence Day

15-August-1772
Divani and Faujdary courts
seperated by East India
Company.

15-August-1854
The first train of the East
Indian Railways steamed out
of Howrah station destined
for Hoogly, which was at a
distance of 24 miles. It was
the first passenger train
catering to public traffic.
Officially, it was inaugurated
in 1855.

15-August-1867
Bhartendu Harishchandra
publishes a Hindi monthly
'Kavi Vachan Sudha'.

15-August-1872
Sri Aurobindo Man Mohan
Ghosh born in Calcutta. He
was a renaissance yoga
philosopher, freedom fighter
and teacher. His 30-volume
work discusses the
'superman', a metaphor for
the divinely transformed
individual soul. He withdrew
from the world in 1910 and
founded International
Ashram in Pondicherry.

15-August-1918
Hans Kumar Tiwari, famous
poet and translater, was
born.

15-August-1921
Amrit Rai, novelist and
translater, was born .

15-August-1925
Sadashiv Pandurang Jantre,
great freedom fighter and
social worker, was born .

15-August-1942
Mahadev Haribhai Desai, an
activist and Mahatma
Gandhi's personal secretary,
died of heart failure at Aga
Khan's Palace.

15-August-1947
Sir Cyril Radcliffe Award on
the new boundaries of West
Punjab, East Punjab, West
Bengal, East Bengal and
Assam.

15-August-1947
India gains independence
from the British rule and
Pakistan emerges as a
separate Islamic nation.
Around 600,000 die in
clashes during the
subsequent population
exchange of 14 million
people between the two new
countries.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

15-August-1947
Paramveer Chakra, Mahaveer
Chakra, Veer Chakra
instituted as 'Awards for
Gallantry'.
15-August-1947
Hindu-Muslim association in
Calcutta.
15-August-1947
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
becomes the first Indian
Prime Minister of free India.
15-August-1947
Lord Louis Mountbatten took
charge as the first British
Governor General of Indian
Union and occupied this
office till June 20, 1948.
15-August-1947
On the the stroke of mid-
night on 14th August 1947,
India became independent
and was partitioned. Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru became
the first prime minister and
Dr. Rajendra Prasad became
the first president of free
India. The mixed economy
policy was taken on a five-
year plan basis for economic
development. On 26th
January 1950, India became
a democratic and is the
biggest democracy of the
world today. In 1956, on the
basis of languages, India
was divided into 14 states
and 6 union territories.
Today, there are 27 states
and 7 union territories.
15-August-1947
India and Pakistan gain
independence (dominion
status). Lord Mountbatten
becomes Governor General of
India and Mohammad Ali
Jinnah is appointed the
Governor General of
Pakistan. Independent
India's first cabinet meeting
with Jawaharlal Nehru as
Prime Minister held.
Members of the first Cabinet
were: 1. J. L. Nehru - PM,
External and Commonwealth
Relations and Scientific
Research, 2. Sardar Patel -
Home Information and
Broadcasting and States, 3.
Dr. Rajendra Praised - Food
and Agriculture, 4. Maulana
Azad - Education, 5. John
Mathai - Railways and
Transport, 6. Sardar Baldev
Singh - Defence, 7. Jagjivan
Ram - Labour, 8. C. H.
Bhabha - Commerce, 9. R. A.
Kidwai - Communications, 10.
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur -
Health, 11. B. R. Ambedkar -
Law 12. R. K. Sanmukham
Chetty - Finance, 13. Shyama
Prasad Mookerji - Industries
and Supplies, 14. N. V.
Gadgil - Works, Mines and
Power.

15-August-1947
The Defence department
becomes the Ministry of
Defence under a Cabinet
Minister. Each service was
placed under its own
Commander-in-Chief. Under
the Constitution, the
supreme command of the
Armed Forces was vested
with the President.

15-August-1947
The Indian independence
divided not only the country
but its armed forces as well.
These units came down and
their equipment was
transferred to the newly
created Royal Pakistan Air
Force. Thus, the principal
components of the Royal
Indian Air Force, during the
partition, were nos. 3, 4, 7, 8
and 10 Squadrons with
Tempest US, No. 2 Squadron
with Spitfires and No. 12
Squadron with C-47s and
No. 1 Air Observation Flight
(AOF). The establishment of
this AOF with AOP Auster 4s,
5s and 6s, coincided with
independence. No. 6
Squadron, which had been
in process of converting from
Spitfires to C-47s at Drigh
Road, had been stood down
and its transports
transferred to Pakistan.

15-August-1947
Brigadier Thakur Mahadeo
Singh was the first Indian
Commandant. He was the
DSO of Indian Militery
Academy.

15-August-1949
Chandernagore joins the
Indian Union. Panchayati
Raj inaugurated in 114,000
villages.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

Today in Indian History

Events for August 18

18-August-1227
Genghis Khan, Monghol conqueror, passed away.

18-August-1700
Bajirao I, the second peshwa, was born.
18-August-1800
Fort William College was established at Calcutta.

18-August-1872
Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar Gadgil, who provided new heights to North Indian classical music, was born at Kundanwadi at Kolhapur distrist in Maharashtra.

18-August-1891
Jain Muni Mishrimalji, poet, social reformer and orator, was born at Pali, Rajasthan.
18-August-1896
Raghupati Sahay ""Firaq Gorakhpuri"", revolutionary Urdu poet, was born. He was honoured with the highest literary awards, including the Sahitya Academy Award in 1960 and Bharatiya Gyanpeeth Award in 1969. His notable works include ""Ruh-e-Kayenaat (Spirit of Universe, 1945)"" and ""Ramz-O-Kinayaat (Suggesti

18-August-1900
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, first woman President of U.N.O. General Assembly, was born.

18-August-1907
Madam Bhikaji Cama, addressed the International Socialist Congress at Stuttgart, Germany.

18-August-1911
Adityanath Jha, former Governor of Delhi, was born.

18-August-1920
Harbhajan Singh, educationist and writer, was born at Lumding.
18-August-1923
Jamshed Khudadaad Irani, cricket wicket-keeper for India during the 1947-48 Australia tour, was born in Karachi.

18-August-1923
Sadashiv ""Sadu"" Ganpatrao Shinde, cricketer (Indian leg-spinner during the late 1940's and early 1950's), was born in Bomb

18-August-1945
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose left Saigon and is believed to have died in a Japanese aeroplane crash at Taihoku Airport in Taiwan.

18-August-1951
Indian Institute of Technology was opened in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

18-August-1956
Sandeep Madhusudan Patil, great Indian batsman, was born in Bombay.

18-August-1957
Tilak Raj was appointed the Narcotics Commissioner of India. He headed his office for four years till 6th September, 1961.

18-August-1958
Dr.Bhagwandas, famous Congress leader and theosophist, died.

18-August-1969
Humayun Kabir, great politician, died.

18-August-1979
Vasantrao Naik, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, died.

18-August-1985
Assam Assembly dissolved (18).

18-August-1990
President R Venkataraman presented the colours to the Officers Training Academy in recognition of their services to the Nation.

18-August-1990
Pandit Narayan Chaturvedi, senior Hindi litterateur, died.

18-August-1991
12 LTTE militants commit suicide.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

Today in Indian History

Events for August 20

20-August-1597
The first ship of the Dutch East India Company returned from Far East.

20-August-1828
Brahmo Samaj, the first movement to initiate religio-social reforms, was founded by Ram Mohun Roy (1772-1833) in Calcutta. Influenced by Islam and Christianity, Roy denounced polytheism, idol worship, repudiated the Vedas, avataras, karma and reincarnation, caste and more. The first session of Adi Brahmo Samaj was held in the rented house by Kamal Bose of Chitpore Road in Jorasanko area in Calcutta.

20-August-1885
First meeting of the Indian National Congress held.

20-August-1905
Lord George Curzon reigned as the Viceroy of India. He was then replaced by Lord Minto II, the Earl of Minto.

20-August-1909
Urmila Devi Shastri, freedom fighter, was born at Srinagar.

20-August-1915
Devraj Ars, former chief minister of Karnataka, was born.

20-August-1917
Declaration of historic 'Mongegue'.

20-August-1917
Raja Kulkarni, freedom fighter and politician, was born at Mhaswa village in Maharashra
.
20-August-1921
The Mopla revolt, one of the important uprisings of India, was started at Kerala.

20-August-1933
Mahatma Gandhi is rushed to the hospital on the fourth day of his latest fast.

20-August-1944
Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India and Bharat Ratna awardee, was born in Bombay.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

20-August-1955
Jawaharlal Nehru breaks off relations with the Portuguese after the invasion of Goa by Indian nationalists.

20-August-1969
Varahagiri Venkata Giri was elected President and G. S. Pathak as Vice President of India.

20-August-1974
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed elected President of India with B. D. Jatti as Vice President

20-August-1979
Indian premier Charan Singh resigns.

20-August-1985
Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, a ragi, reluctant politician and Sikh leader, died. He was shot by Sikh extremists at Sherpur.

20-August-1986
A restructured 20-point programme announced.
20-August-1988
Earthquake measuring 6.5 on Richter Scale strikes India and Nepal. Thousands killed.
20-August-1991
India's Ambassador to Romania J.F.Ribeiro shot by Sikh extremists in Bucharest.

20-August-1991
Indian Oil Executive Director K. Doraiswamy released after 52 days of being in the custody of Kashmir ultras.

20-August-1991
Sivarasan and Subha, the main suspects in Rajiv Gandhi case, commit suicide in Bangalore.

20-August-1993
Mother Teresa hospitalized for malaria.

20-August-1995
305 killed and 345 injured in collision between Purushottam Express and Kalindi Express at Murlinagar near Firozabad (UP).

20-August-1995
India and China decide to withdraw four army battalions from Chu Sumdurong valley near the Line of Actual Control.

20-August-1995
Indira Mahila Vikas Yojana launched.

20-August-1996
India defeat Pakistan in Under-15 World Challenge Final at Lord's, England.

20-August-1997
Lata Mangeshkar receives the Fifth Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award from the President.
20-August-1997
Arun Gawli, Mumbai underworld don, arrested for his alleged involvement in the killing of a builder.

20-August-1997
Premananda, self-styled godman, sentenced by Pudukottai district and sessions court to life imprisonment for two terms and a fine of Rs. 66.4 lakhs for rape of 13 inmates of his ashram and murder of a male inmate.

20-August-1998
The Punjab and Haryana High Court upholds the conviction of former Punjab DGP K.P.S. Gill for outraging the modesty of an IAS officer Mrs. Rupan Deol Bajaj.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

September 21
454
In Italy, Aetius, the supreme army commander, is murdered in Ravenna by Valentinian III, the emperor of the West.
1327
Edward II of England is murdered by order of his wife.
1520
Suleiman (the Magnificent), son of Selim, becomes Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.
1589
The Duke of Mayenne of France is defeated by Henry IV at the Battle of Arques.
1673
James Needham returns to Virginia after exploring the land to the west, which would become Tennessee.
1745
A Scottish Jacobite army commanded by Lord George Murray routs the Royalist army of General Sir John Cope at Prestonpans.
1863
Union troops defeated at Chickamauga seek refuge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is then besieged by Confederate troops.
1904
Exiled Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph dies of a "broken heart".
1915
Stonehenge is sold by auction for 6,600 pounds sterling ($11,500) to a Mr. Chubb, who buys it as a present for his wife. He presents it to the British nation three years later.
1929
Fighting between China and the Soviet Union breaks out along the Manchurian border.
1936
The German army holds its largest maneuvers since 1914.
1937
The women’s airspeed record is set at 292 mph by American pilot Jacqueline Cochran.
1937
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Hobbit is published.
1941
The German Army cuts off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union.
1942
British forces attack the Japanese in Burma.
1944
U.S. troops of the 7th Army, invading Southern France, cross the Meuse River.
1978
Two Soviet cosmonauts set a space endurance record after 96 days in space.
1981
Belize granted full independence from the United Kingdom.
1989
General Colin Powell is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
1991
Armenia granted independence from USSR.
1993
The Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 begins when Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspends parliament and invalidates the existing constitution.
1999
Earthquake in Taiwan kills more than 2,400, injures over 11,305, and causes $300 billion New Taiwan dollars ($10 billion in US dollars).
2003
Galileo space mission ends as the probe is sent into Jupiter’s atmosphere where it is crushed.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

Born on September 21
1756
John Loudon McAdam, engineer who invented and gave his name to macadamized roads.
1866
Charles Jean Henri Nicolle, bacteriologist, discovered that typhus fever is transmitted by body louse.
1866
H.G. Wells, science fiction writer whose works include The Time Machine , The Invisible Man and
The War of the Worlds.
1895
Juan de la Cierva, aeronautical engineer who invented the autogyro.
1902
Allen Lake, founded Penguin Books in 1935.
1912
Chuck Jones, animator and director of Warner Brothers cartoons.
1947
Stephen King, author best known for supernatural and horror tales (The Stand , Salem’s Lot , Joyland ).
1947
Marsha Norman, playwright ( Getting Out, ‘Night Mother ).
1950
Bill Murray, actor; won Emmy for his work on
Saturday Night Live TV series; movies include
Ghostbusters , Groundhog Day , Lost in Translation .
1951
Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov, rebel leader widely credited for the Chechen victory in First Chechen War (1994-96); President of Chechnya (1997-99).
1957
Mark Levin, attorney, author; host of syndicated radio program The Mark Levin Show .
1968
Faith Hill, Grammy Award-winning country pop singer ("Breathe").
1968
Ricki Lake, actress ( China Beach TV series), producer, host of The Ricki Lake Show TV talk show for which she won a Daytime Emmy.
1987
Ashley and Courtney Paris, twins who played in the Women’s National Basketball Association, Ashley for the Los Angeles Sparks, Courtney for the Atlanta Dream.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

Today in History
September 22
1656
The General Provincial Court in session at Patuxent, Maryland, impanels the first all-woman jury in the Colonies to hear evidence against Judith Catchpole, who is accused of murdering her child. The jury acquits her after hearing her defense of never having been pregnant.
1711
The Tuscarora Indian War begins with a massacre of settlers in North Carolina, following white encroachment that included the enslaving of Indian children.
1776
American Captain Nathan Hale is hanged as a spy by the British in New York City; his last words are reputed to have been, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."
1789
Russian forces under Aleksandr Suvorov drive the Turkish army under Yusuf Pasha from the Rymnik River, upsetting the Turkish invasion of Russia.
1862
President Lincoln issues a proclamation calling for all slaves within the rebel states to be freed on January 1, a political move that helps keep the British from intervening on the side of the South.
1864
Union General Philip Sheridan defeats Confederate General Jubal Early’s troops at the Battle of Fisher’s Hill in Virginia.
1869
The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, arrive in San Francisco after a rollicking, barnstorming tour of the West.
1893
Bicycle makers Charles and Frank Duryea show off the first American automobile produced for sale to the public by taking it on a maiden run through the streets of Springfield, Massachusetts.
1906
Race riots in Atlanta, Georgia leave 21 people dead.
1914
The German cruiser Emden shells Madras, India, destroying 346,000 gallons of fuel and killing only five civilians.
1915
Xavier University, the first African-American Catholic college, opens in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1918
General Allenby leads the British army against the Turks, taking Haifa and Nazareth, Palestine.
1919
President Woodrow Wilson abandons his national tour to support the League of Nations when he suffers a case of nervous exhaustion.
1929
Communist and Nazi factions clash in Berlin.
1945
President Truman accepts U.S. Secretary of War Stimson’s recommendation to designate the war World War II.
1947
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster makes the first automatic pilot flight over the Atlantic.
1961
President John Kennedy signs a congressional act establishing the Peace Corps.
1969
Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants becomes the first baseball player since Babe Ruth to hit 600 home runs.
1970
President Richard M. Nixon signs a bill giving the District of Columbia representation in the U.S. Congress.
1975
Sara Jane Moore attempts to assassinate US President Gerald Ford, the second attempt on his life in less than three weeks.
1980
The Iran-Iraq War begins as Iraq invades Iran; lasting until August 1988, it was the longest conventional war of the 20th century.
1991
Huntington Library makes the Dead Sea Scrolls available to the public for the first time.
Born on September 22
1515
Anne of Cleeves (born in Cleeves, Germany), fourth wife of Henry the VIII.
1694
Philip Dormer Stanhope, statesman of letters.
1788
Theodore Hook, English novelist best known for
Impromptu at Fulham .
1791
Michael Faraday, English physicist, inventor of the dynamo, the transformer and the electric motor.
1885
Erich Von Stroheim, director, actor and screenwriter best known for Greed .
1902
John Houseman, director, producer and actor.
1909
David Reisman, sociologist, author of The Lonely Crowd .
1927
Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team from 1975 to 1996.
1933
Fay Weldon, author ( The Life and Loves of a She-Devil).
1939
Junko Tabei, Japanese mountain climber; first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
1949
James "Hoss" Cartwright, US Marine Corps general; commander of US Strategic Command 2004-07.
1956
Debby Boone, multiple Grammy Award–winning singer, author, actress; "You Light Up My Life" set a a record in 1977 with 10 weeks at the No. 1 spot on music charts.
1958
Joan Jett, singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actress ("I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll").
1959
Saul Perimutter, astrophysicist; shared 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for providing evidence the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
1971
Princess Martha Louise of Norway.

 

[Anup Tiwari]

Today in Indian History

Events for September 23

23-September-1743
Sawai Jaising died.

23-September-1803
British-Indian forces defeated the Marathas in the Battle of Assaye.

23-September-1858
Grant Duf, historian who studied Maratha history, died.

23-September-1862
Sriniwas Shastri, great patriot and veteran politician, was born.

23-September-1863
Rao Tula Ram, freedom fighter, died.

23-September-1903
Yusuf Meherali, freedom fighter and socialist, was born.

23-September-1906
Kumar (Mijjan) alias Syed Hasan Ali, film actor, was born in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. He has worked in 'Shadows of the Dead', 'Dukhiari', 'Gambler', 'Patan ni Paniari', 'Thoure of Delhi'.

23-September-1908
Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, famous Hindi poet, was born.

23-September-1911
Rappal Sangmeshwar Krishnan, noted physics expert of India, was born.

23-September-1952
Anshuman Dattajirao Gaekwad, batsman in 40 Tests (1974-85), was born in Bombay.

23-September-1965
The Indian Army secured the Kashmir Valley and the only object left was to clean out the remnants of the Gibraltar Force. Under the guidance of United Nations, the cease-fire came into effect.

23-September-1967
P. S. Vaidya, great Indian ODI pace bowler (1995-96), was born.

23-September-1974
First NCC Airforce Squadran (Women) was established at Vanasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan

 

[Anup Tiwari]

23-September-1974
First NCC Airforce Squadran (Women) was established at Vanasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan.

23-September-1980
Indira Gandhi gains power to imprison without trial.

23-September-1983
Supreme Court upholds execution of criminals through hanging by rope.

23-September-1990
World Bank clears Rs.1,200 crore aid for Sarovar Dam rejecting objections raised by environmental groups.

23-September-1992
Indian-designed pilotless target aircraft 'Lakshya' successfully tested.

23-September-1996
Sitaram Kesri elected provisional president of Congress (I).

23-September-1997
India win Sahara Cup Cricket series by 4-1 victory over Pakistan.

23-September-1999
India rejects Pakistan's proposal for an international conference on arms control.