Today’s Motto: ‘Every life is different, but graves are all identical’

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

On this day, 22 May….

International Day for Biological Diversity : A United Nations-recognised  day to increase understanding and awareness on  Biodiversity of the Earth and  the Universe).

1841 – Henry Kennedy, a cabinet-maker and upholsterer of Philadelphia, was issued the first U.S. patent for a reclining chair (pic credit-Ballotpedia).

1849 – Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, making him the only U.S. President to ever hold a patent.

1988 – Architect Leroy S. Buffington patented the system for building skyscrapers using a metal skeleton frame. Although Buffington claimed to be the originator of the metal skeleton frame that made building tall structures feasible, his claim to be the inventor of the skyscraper was refuted (pic credit-patentplaques.com).

1892 – Dr. Washington Sheffield, a dentist of New London, USA, invented the collapsible metal toothpaste tube. Initially he sold the tooth padte in jasrs.  (The idea of collapsible metal tubes, however, dates back to another patent by American artist John Rand on 11 Sep 1841, but these packages were first commercially used for oil-paints. The first collapsible polythene tubes were produced in the U.S. for skin-tanning lotion in 1953).

1899 – Plain Dealer reporter Charles Shanks first used the French word “automobile”.

1963 – Rohini Glider, became the first to successfully fly at Kanpur.

1973 – Electrical engineer Robert Metcalfe wrote a memo describing a way to transmit data from the early generation of personal computers to a new device, the laser printer. He called his multipoint data communications system Ethernet, and today it continues to dominate as the standard computer network. Though he predicted end of the Ethernet by the end of 20th century, yet it  didn’t  occur. He was honoured with Marconi  Award and  National Inventors Hall of Fame and IEEE Medal of Honour but missed Nobel Prize due to his several   misfired predictions.

1989 – IRBM ‘Agni’ Missile launched successfully from Chandipur, Orissa.

1996 – United Front  leader  H.D. Deve Gowda  was unanimously elected leader of the Front’s Parliamentary Party after CPM Leader and West Bengal CM  Jyoti Basu  and former PM VP Singh declined the  offer.

2004 – Dr Manmohan Singh sworn in  as  the 13th Prime Minister of India after UPA allies refused to  support Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s candidature for PM post.  He was also sworn as PM second time on May 22, 2009  and completed his two full terms.

Born…. 1772 – Raja Ram Mohan Roy, forerunner of the Indian Renaissance and the father of modern India. He was the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, the originator of the Indian linguistic press, the pioneer of the public awakening and social reform movement and the father of the New Jagran era in Bengal. One of the significant achievements in the life of Raja Ram Mohan Rai was the abolition of the practice of Sati.

1859 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish author and physician whose fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, emulates the scientist, diligently searching through data and to make sense of it. “It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” Later in life he was a convert to spiritualism, and requested burial in an upright position in the garden of his home.

1940 – EAS Prasanna,  legendary Indian Spinner cricketer.  Member of Indian Spin Quartet, joining  with  Bishan S Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan)  that won many Test matches and series by their bowling. Prasanna  bowled out 189  batsmen  in Tests at an average of 11.48  and  957  in First Class Cricket  at  an average of 11.90. He was honoured with Padma Shri in 1970  and CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievemt award in 2004 apart from many other accolades.   (pic credit-sportslife.com).

1959 – Mehbooba Mufti, the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. After the death of her father  Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, as Jammu and Kashmir CM.  Her PDP party formed a coalition government with the BJP. In 2018, the BJP broke the alliance, after which there was President’s rule  J& K until   October 2024.

RIP…. 1545 – Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Suri Empire in India whose stories of valour and  courage have been written in golden letters in Indian history. On the strength of his valour. He introduced the new silver rupee-coin “Rupiya” based on ratio of 40 copper coin pieces (paisa) per rupee and built several roads including the longest road of India known as Grand Trunk Road.

You may have known….   1. India has the largest amount of Vegetarians in the world. So much so that Pizza Hut had to open their first pure vegetarian restaurant in the country.

KFC had to introduce a “Vegetarian” menu for India. And so did McDonalds,  two of the world’s largest  non-veg   fast-food manufacturer and dispensors.                  {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}