Today’s Motto: ‘Every storm is followed by a rainbow’

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

On this day, 16 Dec….
(Vijay Diwas is observed across India to honour the bravery, courage, and sacrifice of the Indian Armed Forces. Nationwide events, military parades, educational initiatives in schools and colleges, and cultural programms are organized to instil a sense of patriotism and remember the nation’s Heroes).

1851 – The first U.S. patent for brass spinning was issued to H.W. Hayden in Connecticut. His invention was for machinery that could make kettles and similar articles from discs of metal.

1915 – German-Swiss-American  scientist  Albert Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity.  He was awarded Nobel Prize in  Physics  in 1922.   He advised FD Roosevelt of United States to develop  a Nuclear Weapons program (Manhattan project)  before Germans under Hitler could do so. He worked on Bose-Einstein  Theory on Sttatistics Mechanics.  He also wrote some books viz., Schooling the World, The White Man’s Last Burden, The World I See It,  The Meaning of Relativity.

1935 – The use of eye prints – the pattern of capillaries in the retina – was described in an article  in Time magazine as a new scientific method for identification because an individual’s eye pattern is as unique as fingerprints (pic credit-envisioncentres.com).

1951 – Synthetic diamonds were produced at General Electric Research Laboratories by Prof. H. Tracy Hall. Presently  Element Six of De Beers, Swarovaski, Sumitomo Electric  and Zhengzhou Sino-Crystal Diamonds are major synthetic diamond making companies worldover.                                                                                                                                            1951 – Salarjung Museum opened in Hyderabad.

1971 – India’s army occupies Dacca, West Pakistani troops surrender.The victory showcased the strategic excellence of the Indian armed forces, under the leadership of figures like Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw and Lt. General Jagjit Singh Aurora.

1971 – Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) declares independence from Pakistan.

1971 –Commander of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, signed the Instrument of Surrender in Dhaka. This formal surrender of approximately 93,000 Pakistani troops to the joint forces of the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini was the largest military capitulation since the end of the Second World War.

1992 – The Parliament adopts resolution condemning the demolition of the mosque at Ayodhya and centre appoints a one-man judicial commission to enquire into the Ayodhya incidents.

2012 – A gang rape of a woman on a bus in Delhi/NCR that resulted in her death leads to national and international outrage.                                                                                                                                      2020 – Nine-year-old girl  (Ella Kissi-Debrah) of U.K.,  who died of an asthma attack in 2013 becomes first person in the world to officially have air pollution listed as cause of death (pic credit-ar.inspiredpencil.com).                                                                                                                                  Born….1770 – Ludwig Van Beethoven, greatest musician, poet and innovator. He was the most revered musician of Europe,  his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music.  His  large Bronze statue was unveiled in 1845 on the Münsterplatz in Bonn, his birthplace.

RIP…. 1960 – Ganesh Chintaman Karve, creator of Marathi dictionary and author. He was  reverred as  Maharishi Karve for his social, philanthropic and education initiatives.

1971 – Lieutenant Arun Khetrapal, Param Vir Chakra awardee (posthumous).  Pune born  Hero of 1971 War, was born to a respected  military family,  his father retired as Brigadier ML Khetrapal.   Lt. Arun  sacrificed his life while destroying 10 Patten tanks (US make) in Indo-Pak war of 1971 in Bara Pind – Narowal- Shakargah) near Ferozepur border.   He was commanding a Tank unit along the Indo-Pak war front.                                                       Titbits….  1809 – Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine of Italy, because she could not produce an heir to  move Napolepon’s dynasty further. (pic credit-classicinfluence .com).                                                                                                                       You may have known…. 1. As of late 2024/early 2025, India has around 114 operational attack helicopters and China has approximately 281 dedicated attack helicopters.                                               2.  French was the official language of England for about  600 years. It’s because French  Norman  class ruled England from 1066 to 14th century end (pic -credit-frenchleeds.co.uk).                                                                    {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}