Motto for Today: ‘A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.’

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

On this day, Nov. 04………

1845 – Michael Faraday, working in his laboratory at the Royal Institution, hung a piece of heavy glass between the poles of an electro-magnet and observed that the glass aligned itself across the lines of force of the magnet. He further experimented on many other substances, with similar results, a phenomenon that he named diamagnetism. These investigations showed Faraday that magnetism was inherent within matter. This led to his lecture “Thoughts on Ray-vibrations” in April 1846, which he expanded in the following years into his field theory of electro-magnetism.

1846 – The first U.S. patent for an artificial leg was granted to Benjamin F. Palmer of Meredith, New Hampshire. The leg had a pliable joint that worked noiselessly and preserved its contour in all positions.

1869 – The first issue was published of the journal Nature, edited by astronomer Sir Norman Lockyer.

1873 – The first U.S. patent was issued for a meat-slicing machine to Anthony Iske of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It used an oblique knife in a vertical sliding frame for slicing dried beef.

1873 – The first U.S. patent for a gold crown was issued to Dr. John B. Beers of San Francisco, California on “artificial crowns for teeth”.

1879 – James Jacob Ritty with help from his brother John, invented the first cash register, intended to combat stealing by bartenders in the Pony House Restaurant, his Dayton, Ohio saloon. His idea came on a cruise, when he saw a device that counted the revolutions of the ship’s propeller. Their first model looked like a clock, but instead of the hands indicating hours and minutes, they indicated dollars and cents. Behind the dial two adding discs accumulated the total of the amounts recorded. Known as “the incorruptible cashier,” with no cash drawer, it would show anyone within sight how much had been recorded. However, the Ritty brothers failed to sell their cash registers in large quantities – mainly because shop staff distrusted this “thief trap”.

1879 – African-American Thomas Elkins patented a refrigerating apparatus designed for chilling or cooling food, or even, according to the patent, human corpses. A porous chilling box enveloped in fabric rests on a grated floor through which a circulation of air aids the evaporation of water supplied from a trough to the fabric. As the water evaporates, latent heat is withdrawn from the chilling box.

1922 – The entrance to King Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered in Egypt in the Valley of the Kings where the English archaeologist Howard Carter had been making extended excavations. One of Carter’s laborers stumbled upon a stone step, the first step in a sunken stairway that ran down into the rock. Later in the month, Carter opened the virtually intact tomb of the largely unknown child-king Tutankhamen, who became pharaoh at age 9 and died at 19.

1939 – The first air-conditioned automobile was exhibited by its manufacturer, Packard Motor Co. of Detroit Michigan.

1946 – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Constitution became effective. The Preamble of its Constitution declares: “Since wars begin in the minds of men it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” It currently has 188 Member States and 5 Associate Members. Its main objective is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication. UNESCO provides for the advancement, transfer, and sharing of knowledge: relying primarily on research, training and teaching activities. It has headquarters in Paris, France.

1947 – India and Pakistan accuse each other of violating their neutrality agreement in the Kashmir dispute as Indian troops invade the state.

1998 – Paramjeet Singh upstages Milkha Singh’s 38-year-old 400m record at the national open athletic championship at Calcutta.

2010 – The oldest type of stone axe in the world is dated at 35,500 years old; it was found in Australia’s Northern Territory in the lands of the Jawoyn people.

2014 – Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko orders army reinforcements to key southern and eastern cities to combat potential rebel offensive.

2016 – Paris Agreement on climate change becomes effective.

Born….

1618 – Aurangzeb, Mughal King.

1929 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian computer and astrologer who demonstrated her gift as an arithmetical prodigy in public performances (beginning at age of 6), rapidly computing answers to addition of several up to 13-digit numbers. Using her mental skills, she applied shortcuts using mathematical algorithms, though she could not explain that ability. Her calculations included using large numbers in multiplication and division. She also quickly gave square and cube roots, and could name the day of the week for any date in the last century.

1965 – Milind Suman, model.

1971 – Tabu, actor.

RIP….

1970 – Pandit Shambhu Maharaj, the great Kathak dancer.

You may have known….

Rattlesnakes gather in groups to sleep through the winter. Sometimes up to 1,000 of them will coil up together to keep warm.

{Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}