Today’s Motto: ‘Forgiveness is the best tonic for peace of mind’

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

On this day, 07 Apr…

1795 – France adopted by law, the metre as the unit of length and the base of the metric system. Jean Delambre and Pierre Méchain measured an arc of the meridian from Dunkirk to Barcelona, so that the metre could be defined as one ten-millionth part of the distance between the poles and the equator.

1820- John Walker, the  Scottish grocer/pharmacist,  a teetotler used  to blend  fine  for his  rich customers,   invested in an Italian warehouse,  and wines/ spirits shop on the High Street in Kilmarnock whisky brand, then known as ‘Walker’s Kilmarnock Whisky’   and  Old Highland Whisky (renamed Johnnie Walker Black Label), the blend that made Johnnie Walker whisky famous, after initial setbacks due to a flood in the area.  His son later used his marketing skills and  established the brand, now popular in more than 120 countries (pic credit-medium.com).

1827 – John Walker, the above pharmacist, recorded his first sale of the friction matches he invented the previous year  (on 27 Nov 1826  accidentally  while trying to produce a readily combustible material for a light shotgun. His first match was the wooden stirring stick he used in a mixture of potash and antimony sulphide. To remove a blob on the end of the stick, he had scraped it on the stone floor, and it ignited. He never patented the invention, and his production was limited to a sideline of his pharmacy business.

1896 – Inventor Simon Lake was issued a U.S. patent for his “Submarine Locomotive”, which he designed with underwater salvage operations in mind. It was fitted with traction wheels to travel the water-bed, and a crane hoist at the front. He improved his design with a later patent issued 20 Apr 1897. On 16 Dec 1897 he demonstrated submarine Argonaut (pic credit-alchetron.com).

1923 – The first operation to remove a brain tumour under local anesthetic (cocaine on the patient’s scalp) was performed at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City by a team of surgeons led by Dr. Karl Winfield Ney. The patient Henry A. Brown was fully conscious throughout the operation and was able to answer the doctors’ questions.

1931 – Mahatma Gandhi suspended his campaign of Civil Disobedience Movement  following Gandhi-Irwin Pact. Though the Movement started  against Salt Tax law and passed through Dandi March, Purana Swaraj  Movement etc. It was called off by  MK Gandhi in 1934, when he shifted  attention to Harijan upliftment and other social causes.

1948 – World Health Organization  (WHO) formed by United Nations Organisation with  Geneva, Switzerland HQ.  The mandate was to supervise  Public Health,  provide research support and  urgent  help at  epidemics suffering  population world over. It has about 150 field offices world over.,

1959 – The first distinguishable echo was recorded of a radar signal bounced off the Sun—considered a milestone in the emerging field of radar astronomy.

1976 – Chinese Politburo fires vice-premier Deng Xiaoping. But he came back to power (1978-89) and became a reformist on hardline  policies.  He was dethroned again  in 1989 by Jiang  Zemin  following   crackdown on Tiananmen Square protestors  (pic credit-biografieonline.it).

1983 – It was reported that a human skeleton, believed to be perhaps a Neanderthal up to 80,000 years old, had been brought to the Smithsonian for study. It had been discovered in southern Egypt.
1997 – Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan finalise preparations for a new trade bloc called ‘Growth Quadrangle’. though it  mostly remained a  non-starter  with  little policy follow-up.

2000 – The Delhi police unearth a multicrore cricket betting and match- fixing racket involving five South African cricketers, including the captain Hansie Cronje. A Delhi-based Indian operator Rajesh Kalra put behind bars. Cronje died  in aeroplane crash  on June 01, 2002 near George Airport (SA).

2003 – U.S. troops capture Iraq capital  Baghdad. President  Saddam Hussein was caught 2 days later and hanged, after summary trial by US military  court, on Dec. 30, 2006.                                                                                                                                                                                                            2012 – Landslides in Siachen,  western Pakistani  side kills 130  soldiers.

Born…. 1770 – William Wordsworth, English poet laureate.  He wrote many ballard lyrics alongwith his contemporary poet Samuel  Taylor. He was awarded Poet Laurate honour by British Govt.

1920 – Pt. Ravi Shankar (Bhattacharya), renowned Sitar player. He composed numerous classical ragas and western music albums. He organised many concert abroad too and won worldwide praise, He provided music for several film like Dharti Ke Laal,  Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Vachan, Do Badan, Hamraz, Ankhen, Nikah, Gharana, Khandan. etc., His albums Sounds of India, Pather Panchali, Music and Lyrics, Gandhi, Natural Born Killers etc. are  his evergreen works.

1942 – Jeetendra (Ravi Kapoor), Bollywood  film actor known as Jumping Jack  of Indian film industry, debuted with a musical  film  by Geet Gaya Pathron Ne by V Shanta Ram and went on to perfom im dance/song  like Parichay, Caravan, Sehra, Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti, Aasha, Jeene Ki Raah, Hamjoli, Jeene Ki Raah, Farz, Himmatwala  and Swarg Se Sunder,  Tohfa, Maqsad, Farz, Dharamveer  etc. over 200 films.  He won several Filmfare, Lifetime Achievement, Zee Cine, Sansui, Screen awards.  He also started Balaji Films, Balaji Motion Pictures, now controlled by  his daughter Ekta Kapoor, who has  produced several popular TV serials.  

1954 – Jackie Chan, Hong Kong martial arts actor, film  producer, Martal -fight  arist.He  has acted  in several    blockbuster movies like Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, Who Am I?, Shanghai Nights, Around the World in 80 Days, Polic Story. He has won several film awards from his over 200 film works and has a worth of $400 million.    (pic credit-mubi.com)

1986 – Huma Qureshi, popular Bollywood actress who has worked in  Hindi films like Gangs of Wassepur, Ek Thi Daayan, Jolly LLB,  Highway etc. and Army of the Dead in Bollywood and won a Filmfare  OTT awards and 3 nominations, .

RIP…. 1860 – William Keith Kellogg, an American industrialist and philanthropist who founded (1906) the W.K. Kellogg Company to manufacture cereal  products as breakfast foods.

1947 – Henry Ford, inventor and automobile manufacturer who first experimented with internal combustion engines while he was an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company.

You may have known….  Indian  sergeons  invented plastic surgery. Sushruta, an ancient surgeon from 600 BCE in Kashi, India, is a pioneering figure in medical history. His innovations in surgical techniques, predating Hippocrates and Galen, have left an indelible mark in the field.                                                                                              {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}