Today’s Motto: ‘Dreaming new dreams has no age limit’

This is Your Day-TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History ! 

On this day, 18 October….

1776 – In a New York bar decorated with bird tail, a customer orders “cock tail”. (The origin of the word cocktail is disputed. The first recorded use of the word cocktail not referring to a horse is found in

The Morning Post and Gazetteer in London, England on March 20, 1798. The first recorded use of the word cocktail as a beverage {possibly non-alcoholic} in the United States appears in The Farmer’s Cabinet on April 28, 1803. The first definition of cocktail known to be an alcoholic beverage appeared on May 13, 1806. In New Orleans, the Sazarac {a local New Orleans variation of a Cognac or whiskey cocktail) was prepared using an eggcup measure as a jigger. The French for egg-cup is “coquetier” {pron. cock-a-tsha} and it is likely that the English word cocktail is simply a gastronomic loan-word from the French}).

1878 – Edison makes electricity available for household use.

1922 – British Broadcasting Company (BBC) founded, later called British Broadcasting Corporation. (It is the world’s oldest national broadcasting organisation and the second largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, with over 20,000 staff in total. Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts. The fee is set by the British Government).

1952 – Vinoo Mankad takes 13 Pakistan wkts to win 1st India-Pak  Test match. Lala Amarnath was the Indian captain then. Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy had an opening  stand, a record of 413 runs in 1956 against New Zealand at Madras (Chennai).  His record of 231 runs  also lasted for 52 years, broken by Sunil Gavaskar, He is also known for  running out a batsaman for backing up at non-striking end. This is also called Mankading in cricketing world. He was awarded Padma Bhushan and ICC Crickert Hall of Fame. An ODI  trophy;  Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Under-19 cricketers was established in his name

1954 – Texas Instruments Inc announces the first transistor radio.  (Their development was made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1947. They became the most popular electronic communication device in history, with billions manufactured during the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning in the 1980s, cheap AM transistor radios were superseded by devices with higher audio quality, portable CD players, personal audio players, and boom boxes).

1955 – Track & Field  Committee  names Jesse Owens all-time great  track athlete. he had taken 4 Gold medals in 1936 Berlin  Olympics. He alleged that he faced  racial discrimination  in  America, even after winning  4 Gold medals for the country.  (Even US President Franklin Roosevelt  discriminted, he alleged).

1980 – The first Himalayan Car Rally was flagged off from the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

1992 – Zimbabwe’s plays  first Test match vs India at Harare.

1997 – Prince Philip switches on the internet version of Malayala Manorama and  The Week at Kochi.

1998 – India and Pakistan agreed to stop Nuclear Tests and  threats.

2004 – The notorious sandalwood smuggler Veerappan was killed.

2007 – After 8 years in exile, Benazir Bhutto returns to her homeland, Pakistan. The same night, suicide attackers blow themselves up near Bhutto’s convoy, killing over 100 in the cheering crowd, including 20 police officers. Bhutto escaped uninjured.

2013 – Saudi Arabia becomes the first country to turn down a seat on the UN Security Council in protest over Syria.

Born….  1792 – Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal, first  Maharaja  of Jammu & Kashmir state who established Dogra dynasty. He was a commander of Sikh Army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who gave him the Jagir and 90  horses for  Rs. 12,000 in 1820 when he required money for raising army units. Gulab Singh exanded his  state by defeating nearby  rajas of Kishtwar and other areas.

1925 – ND Tiwari. Veteran Congress leader, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (3 times) and later Uttrakhand  State  during 2002-07.  He was also Uniion Minister in PM Indira Gandhi and  Rajiv  Gandhi Govts.  He was  a candidate for PM’s post in 1991 after Rajiv’s assasination  but  PV Narasimha Rao  got the prefence of then Congress acting  President  Sonia Gandhi (pic credit-dnaindia.com).

1950 – Om Puri, a famous Hindi film actor. Youngest brother of  veteran actors Madan Puri, Amrish  Puri, he  debuted in film industry with Chor Chor Chhup Ja and did memorable rolesw in Ghasi Ram Kotwal  (by Vijay Tendulkar), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro,  Bhumika, Godhuli, Bhookh, Sparsh, Chann Pardesi, Alberti Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, Aakrosh, Kalyug, Mandi, Aarohan, Ardh satya, Mirach Masala etc. He also acted in  filom Gandhi by British director Richard Attenbro. He scored  2 National awards,  BAFTA,  3 Filmfares, apart from Padma Shri in 1990 (pic credit-indiawest.com).

1968 – Narendra Hirwani.  Famous Indian  leg-spin bowler known for his sensational Test Debut taking 16 Wickets in his first 3n -Test series in 1968 against Australia.

RIP….  1983 – Vijay Manjrekar,  very successful  batsman against Pace bowling.  He  played 55 Tests, scored  3,208 runs with 7 hundreds and 15  fifties. Represented  several states like Andhra, Bangal, Maharashtra,  Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy and First class cricket. Former National Selector Sanjay Manjrekar is his son.

You may have known…. 1. As of December 31, 2022, there were 573,220 prisoners in India, with an official capacity of  436,266, resulting in an occupancy rate of 131.4%. The majority of inmates were undertrials, accounting for 75.8% of the total prison population, with 434,302 individuals awaiting trial.                              

2.   Incidents of child sexual abuse continue to be reported from across India, highlighting the persistent risks faced by children. Despite growing awareness and legal safeguards, many cases are believed to go unreported due to factors such as fear of stigma, social pressure, concerns about lengthy legal processes, and reluctance to report abuse involving known persons.}                                                                                                                                                                         {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)   Raj Kadyan