Today’s Motto: ‘Every experience has hidden opportunities’

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

On this day,  May 25……..

1852 – Elisha Graves Otis was issued a U.S. patent for a “Railroad-Car Truck and Brake”. Otis is well-known for his invention of the safety elevator in the same year, which used automatic braking devices to arrest the fall of an elevator car if its supporting cable broke.

1915 – Mahatma Gandhi established Sabarmati Ashram in Kochrab near Ahmedabad.

1933 – All young Hindus aged between 12 and 25 years were forced to carry identity cards to prevent spread of terrorism.

1935 – Jesse Owens (James Cleveland Owens)  of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Michigan, US. He won 4 Golds at 1936 Olympics at Berlin.

1940 – In one of the most famous animal tests in medical history, eight mice were inoculated with a lethal dose of streptococci and then four of them were injected with penicillin. Next day the four mice given streptococci alone were dead, the four with penicillin were healthy.

1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting from the campus of the University of Houston.

1961 – The formal announcement of an American lunar landing was made by President John F. Kennedy speaking to the Congress: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space programme in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space, and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”

1965 – India had further clashes with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute.

1999 – The Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee declares the Centre will take all possible steps to push back infiltrators in Kargil.

2013 – Maoists kill 32 Congressmen in Chhattisgarh. This happened when a convoy of Congress Party leaders was travelling through the Darbha Valley in the southern part of Chhattisgarh. Some of the major issues brought about in the aftermath of the Chhattisgarh attack were the lack of adequate security, and the rise of Naxalism in the “red corridor” area.

2013 – An Apple-I computer is sold for US $617,000 at auction.

2017 – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg receives an honorary degree from Harvard University, after dropping out in 2004.

2020 – Video of African American George Floyd’s arrest and murder while restrained in Minneapolis police custody shows he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignites widespread condemnation and nationwide protests.

Born….

1886 – Rash Behari Basu, great revolutionary, freedom fighter, social reformer and leader. He was the key organiser of the Ghadar Movement and Indian National Army.

1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, born in Kiev, Ukraine.

1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, legendary Indian writer, poet, musician  and revolutionary  from Bengal (pic credit-IMDb).

1936 – Rusi Framroz Surti, cricketer (Indian slow lefty, hat-trick 1969).

1972 – Karan Johar, film director, actor son of producer Yash Johar.

1983 – Kunal Khemu, (from Srinagar) Bollywood actor acted in Raja Hindustani, Go Go Goa, Kalyug, Golmaal Again etc. Won Stardust award. (pic credit-mRediff.com).

RIP….

1606 – Guru Arjun Dev, spiritual leader of Sikhs and Hindus, was massacred at the instruction of Emperor Jahangir.

2005 – Sunil Dutt, popular Bollywood actor & politician. He acted in films like Ek Hi Raasta, Mother India, Raaj Tilak, Watan Ke Rakhwale, Kshatriya, Parampara and Munna Bhai (pic credit-BookMyShow)

2005 – Ismail Merchant, famous  film director, who directed and produced film like Shakespearwala, Heat and Dust, Howards End,.Merchant Ivory, Mr. & Mrs Bridge etc. Was awarded National Film award, Padam Bhushan, BFTA etc.(pic credit-IMDb)

Titbits….

1895 – The playwright, poet, and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.

You may have known….

Between the 1930s and 1950s show fitting fluoroscopes – essentially X Rays – were used to measure shoe size.

 

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