Today’s Motto: ‘Every day do one thing that scares you’

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

On this day, 28 Jun….

1762 – 1st reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston).

1846 – Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax,  a Belgian musician and instrument  designer (pic credit-biografieonline.com).

1859 – 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England).

1909 – 1st French Air Show, Concours d’Avation opens.

1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his consort, Sophie, were assassinated by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia, precipitating the outbreak of World War I.

1919 – Treaty of Versailles, ending WWI and establishing the League of Nations, is signed in France.

1938 – An aerial tramway, the first in North America, was opened and  dedicated (pic credit-unionleader.com)

1965 – 1st US ground combat forces in Vietnam authorised by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1975 – As a response to intense  anti-government demonstrations against Emergency,  Indira Gandhi  govt. imposes the toughest Press Censorship over media,  since independence.

1976 – 1st woman was admitted to US Air Force Academy.

1981 – China opened the road to Kailash  Parbat   and Mansarovar Lake.  These are two  most reverred pilgrim places of Hindus, connected to  Bhagwan Shiv and other mythological  epics. The two pilgrim centres are situated in Tibet, close to  Nepal and India borders in the Himalayas.

1986 – Accord with Mizo National Front; Lal Denga  became  the chief minister of Mizoram.

2019 – 3,400 year old Bronze Age palace from the Mittani Empire uncovered on the banks of the Tigris River, due to lack of rainfall dropping the water level in the Mosul Dam reservoir.

Born…. 1921 – PV Narasimha Rao, lawyer and a statesman  who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He had been Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Union External Affairs Minister earlier. Following the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, he was  selected by the Congress Party  to lead the  Nation as PM. He is credited to have brought in Liberalisation of Indian Economy. He had donated majority of his land to Bhudan Andolan by Gandhian  Vinoba Bhave. A literary person, he knew 17 languages including Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Sanskrit, English, German and more. He wrote and translated several books into Hindi or English. He wrote his biography The Insider after retirement from politics. He was honoured with Bharat Ratna in 2024.

1949 – Rajeev Verma. Veteran Indian Bollywood and TV serial actor  known for acting in Maine Pyar Kiya, Ham Dil de Chuke Sanam, Koi Mil Gaya, Andaaz etc. He has won Filmfare and other cine awards.

1976 – Jaspal Rana, an Indian shooter. He made a new record by winning 8 Gold in the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championship. Rana set many records at the Asian, World Commonwealth,  Commonwealth, and National levels. He recently died, on June 12, 2026.

1971 – Elon Musk. Pretoria, South Africa born American businessman,  owner of Texla, X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX. Was staunch supporter of US President Trump in election campaign and was made head of DOGE (Deptt. of Govt. Efficiency). Resigned recently due to some differences. His net worth is $ 380 Billion.

RIP….2008 -Irina Baronova.  famous Russian ballerina and actress. Acted in Ballets Russos, de Monte  Carlo etc. (pic credit-press.uchicago..edu)

You may have known….If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India : French scholar Romain Rolland and contemporary of Rabindra Nath Tagore and  Mahatma Gandhi.                                                                                                                                                                                   {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}