Today’s Motto: ‘‘Bad luck is only an excuse for failure, to deal with the problems of life’
As Every Day makes a new beginning in life, it brings new opportunities, opens new avenues, to perform and make a mark, to write a Page in History Book!
This is Your Day-TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History!
Today….. May 13…..
1648 – Construction of the Red Fort at Delhi is completed.
1796 – English physician Edward Jenner administered the first vaccination against smallpox to an eight-year-old boy James Phipps, with material from the sores of dairymaid Sarah Nelmes who had a mild case of cowpox. A few weeks later, on 1 Jul, he subsequently tested the boy’s resistance to smallpox, by inoculating Phipps with smallpox vi
rus. Fortunately, the immunisation had been successful. This tested a conventional wisdom he had heard that those who had survived cowpox seemed to be immune to the deadly smallpox disease (pic credit-britishheritage.com).
1850 – The first U.S. patent for a dishwashing machine was issued to Joel Houghton of Ogden, NY, for an “Improvement in Machines for Washing Table Furniture”.
1856 – Charles Darwin began writing his book, The Origin of Species, sitting in the study of his country home in Down, England.
1862 – Swiss watchmaker Adolphe Nicole patented the chronograph, which was able to give split-second timing of sports events (pic credit-joseartgallery.com).
1878 – The name Vaseline was registered as a trademark for the petroleum jelly developed by an English-born chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough. He began, in 1859, with an interest in the petroleum oil boom, and travelled to Pelsylvania, where oil strikes began, to enter that business. Once there, his chemist’s curiosity was caught by a pasty residue that stuck to driller’s rods and clogged their pumps. Workers had found it was practical to use on burns and cuts to promote healing. Cheseborough returned to Brooklyn and spent years experimenting to extract and purify the useful ingredient he called “petroleum jelly.” Manufacturing 
from 1870, he received a patent on the product on 4 Jun 1872.
1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured labourers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas. 1952 – Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Indian parliament holds its first sitting.
1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Imm
ediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
1954 – President of India issues an order extending application of Indian Constitution to Kashmir with the concurrence of the State government.
1955 – The Warsaw Pact is established. It was a defence and cooperation treaty signed between Soviet Union and East European countries viz., Poland, Ea
st Germany, Albania, Balgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania. The main reason was to counter Western influence, with NATO having admitted West Germany into its fold. Nikita Khruschev had taken over the control of USSR in 1955.
1973 – Skylab launched, 1st Space Station (pic credit-Britannica).
1986 – Netherlands Institute for War Documentation publishes Anne Frank’s complete diary.
1992 – LTTE banned in India. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam was a Sri Lanka based ethnic organisation of local Tamils, established in 1976, opposed to local Singhala majority. Prabhakaran was one of it most prominent and fiercest leaders.
2018 – China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier begins sea trials in Dalian, China.
2019 – Sri Lanka imposes a nationwide curfew from 9pm to 4am to curb violence against Muslims after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.
2021 – World’s largest iceberg ‘A-76’ at 1,667-square-miles (4,320 square km) calves off the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica. It’s twice the size of London but melting slowly.
Born….. 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Indian politician, freedom fighter and 5th President of India between 1974-77. He was the Prsident when the PM Indira Gandhi’s election to Lok Sabha was annulled by Allhabad High Court on June 24, 1975. She’s believed to
have got his signs on Emergency order with her Cabinet approval. 1916 – VM Salgaonkar (Vasudeva Mahadeva). Leading Indidustrialist and philanthropist of Goa. He set up a big empire in iron ore, coal miniing, exports, steel processing, education and real estate etc. He set up Salgaokar Football Club in 1956 which was a major soccer Club of India. His son Dattaraj was married Mukesh Ambani’s younger sister Deepti.
1956 – Ravi Shanker, Spiritual Leader. He is frequently referred to as “Sri Sri’’, Guru Ji, or Gurudev. He founded the “Art of Living Foundation’’ in 1981, a volunteer–based on NGO providing social support to the people.
1993 – Morgan Wallen, American singer born in Tennesse state. Sang rural and folk songs and enthralled his millions of fans. Net worth is $ 35 million in 2024.
1969 – Assaduddin Owaisi. Famous Muslim politician and 5 time Member of Parliament from Hyderabad. He heads the party AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen). He has been critic of BJP-NDA govt since 2014 but has recently praised PM Modi’s Operation Sindoor as revenge for
Pahalgam carnage of 28 innocent Hindu tourists. His brother is more venoouus on Hindus and right wing politicians.
RIP….2001 – R.K.Narayan, a legendary Indian writer known for his works set in the fictional South 
Indian town of Malgudi- Malgudi Days, which was a popular TV serial. He received Sahitya Academy Award, Filmfare Award, and Padma Bhushan.
You may have known…. 1. India has banned all captive dolphins, stating that dolphins should 
be viewed as non human persons.
2. Emu birds cannot walk backward. 
{Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}
