Today’s Motto: ‘A hero shows courage to die for something……

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

On this day, 27 Mar….

1860 – M L. Byrn of New York City was issued a patent for an improved corkscrew – a “covered gimlet screw with a ‘T’ handle”. (After all, if it wasn’t for the invention of the corkscrew we’d be pulling corks out of those wine bottles with our teeth!)

1899 – Guglielmo Marconi transmitted across the English Channel from Boulogne, France, to Dover, England. Messages were exchanged over the 32 miles, and trials  continued for several days, at a speed of up to fifteen words a minute. The success of Marconi’s experiments made possible communications without expensive undersea cables.                                                                                                                                                                                              1933 – Polythene discovered by Reginald Gibson and Eric William Fawcett.                                                  1998 – Sildenafil citrate (marketed as Viagra), was the first oral pill to treat impotence, a dysfunction affecting millions of men in the U.S. Its inventer   Dr.  Louis Ignarro, an American pharmacologist  won Nobel Prize in 1998 jointly with 2 others.  It is reported to be globally the  sixth-biggest drug product, with annual sales of about $2 billion (pic credit-youtube.com).

2010 – India successfully test-fires Dhanush and Prithvi 2 equipped with nuclear technology at Chandipur, Odisha.                                                                                                                                                                            2014 – UN General Assembly condemns Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Crimea was earlier part of USSR, when the  2nd Super Power of the World broke into  15 independent countries in  December. 1991.

2019 – Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country is now a “Space Power” after successfully shooting down a satellite from space in a ballistic missile test.

2023 – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announces pause of key part of controversial plans to overhaul the justice system after massive protests and the country’s largest trade union goes on strike.

2023 – Possibility of bases on the Moon becomes greater  after 300 billion tonnes of water, stored in glass beads on Moon’s surface, identified in lunar soil samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 satelite.

2024 – New analysis confirms climate change is slowing the rotation of Earth due to melting ice caps and will probably delay the next leap second by three years.

Born…972 -Robert II, the king of Franks from 998 to 1031 AD.  Also callede the Pious or the Wise, he was well educated and trained for military warfare by his fatherHuge Capet, who established Capet empire in France and  Normandy (pic credit-gettyimages.com).                                                                                       1765 -Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologist, born in Munich. Learnt medicine, engineering, mining but preferred to practice philosophy. He wrote  Fermenta Cognitionis  and Spekulative Dogmatik . He was appointed professor of philosophy and speculative theology at the new University of Munich in 1826-1838.

1845- Wilhelm K Rontgen.  German (Rhine)  physicist who discovered  X-rays and was awarded Nobel Prize in 1901 (pic credit-britannica.com).

1863 – Henry Royce, a newspaper vendor lad  who  got apprenticeship at age 14, became  automobile engineer,  manufactured  luxury  cars  Rolls Royce and aircraft engines, alongwith Charles Rolls and his marketing colleague Claude Johnson,  about 120 years ago (May 1904). They  made the car the numero uno of luxury automoblie industry.

1947 – Tom Sullivan. Blind American singer, writer, actor, motivational speaker.  He helped in research for curing blindness. His roles in Airport ’77, Daredevil,  If You Could See What I Hear etc. He is also known for Sullivan’s Rules, establishing that ‘any negatives or shortcomings, can  be turned into positives’.  He was awarded Helen Keller Achievement award (1997) and Best Performer Award at Yamha Music Festival 1976 (pic credit-in.images.yahoo.com).

1985 – Ram Charan, actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu films. He is the highest paid Telegu actor and  box Office hit, who debuted with film Chirutha in 2007 and appeared in Magadhir, Orange, Racha, Nayak, Yevadu, Govindadu Andarivadele, Dhruva and RRR  etc. He figured in the  Forbe India’s  Celebrity  100  list in 2013. He has won 4 Filmfare, 2 Nandi and several other awards.

RIP….  1552 – Guru Angad Dev, 2nd Sikh Guru. Born as a Hindu  (Bhai Lenha) he  followed Guru Nanak Dev’s teachings and wrote them in Gurumukhi (Punjabi script).  (some also believed  his death occured on  March 29, 1552).

1898 – Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who introduced modern education for the Muslims of India.

You may have known….  Takshashila (or Taxila) is said to be the first university in the world;  started around 1,000 BCE (believed to be  the Vedia period). Situated  about 25  km  north-west of Islamabad-Rawalpindi highway, now in  Pakistan) is a  UNESCO World Hetitag e Site.  The university was  a  big centre of Learning during  Mauryan, Kushan and Gupta kingdoms. It was captured by Alexander  in 326 BCE  and was destroyed by Hunnas, Ummayads who   implemented Islamic rule. The site was extensively  excavatedd by archelogists Alexander Cunningham and  Sir John Marshall in 19th century   leading to its  designation as  UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.

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