Today’s Motto: ‘If you want to be happy, stop feeling sorry for yourself’

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

On this day, 29 Jul….
(International Tiger Day, to spread awareness about the exact need for Tigers’ conservation and to promote the protection of tigers’ natural habitat. This day is also referred to Global Tiger Day).

1588 – Attacking Spanish Armada defeated and scattered by English defenders.
The Spanish Armada was a Spanish fleet of 130 ships escorting an army from Flanders to invade England. It was a failure and of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return. The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The following year, England organised a similar large-scale campaign against Spain, the “counter-Armada of 1589″, which was also unsuccessful, had serious economic consequences and saw the loss of many English lives and ships (pic credit-GettyImages.com) .

1870 – America’s first asphalt pavement was laid in Newark. The first recorded asphalt pavement in the U.S. was a sand mix placed in front of the City Hall in Newark in 1870.

1874 – Major Walter Copton Wingfield patents a portable tennis court. He started selling boxed sets that included rubber balls imported from Germany as well as a net, poles, court markers, rackets and an instruction manual. Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997, as the founder of Modern Lawn Tennis, an example of the original equipment for the sport and a bust of Wingfield himself can be seen at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum (pic credit-pinterest.com.mx).

1899 – 1st motorcycle race, Manhattan Beach, New York.

1914 – Transcontinental telephone service began. It was celebrated with a telephone conversation between Thomas A. Watson in San Francisco and Alexander Graham Bell in New York City repeating their historic conversation from 1876.

1927 – The first iron lung (electric respirator) was installed at Bellevue hospital in New York for the post war polio epidemic (pic credit-electronicpro.co.za).

1949 – BBC radio begins broadcasting.

1983 – First Pilot-less Aeroplane of India was tested successfully by the Aeronautical Development Establishment near Kolar (pic credit-logupdateafrica.com).

1987 – India and Sri Lanka sign peace accord at Colombo in a bid to end the 5-year old ethnic trouble. This stance taken thereafter by the LTTE added several dimensions to the scenario. It was a multi-purpose role that the Navy has been required to play.

1993 – Two bills seeking to delink religion from politics and to empower the EC to debar parties with religious names introduced in Lok Sabha.

1999 – Bandh in Mumbai to protest against the verdict barring Bal Thackeray from voting and contesting any election till December 10, 2001.

2024 – Fast-food chain McDonald’s reports a fall in sales worldwide for the first time since 2020 as higher prices affect demand.

Born….1883 – Badridas Goenka, a successful Indian  industrialist who was  decorated as  Rai Bahadur Sir Badridas Goenka CIE  by the British. He   served as the Chairman of the Imperial Bank of India from 1933 to 1955 and the first Chairman of the State Bank of India upon its formation in 1955 till1957. He was also the  first  Chairman  of FICCI.

1904 – J. R. D. Tata, iconic aviator,  industrialist and great philanthropist. French born Indian who studied in France, England and Japan.  He became Indian citizen in 1929 and joined his family company  Tata Sons. JRD  got a flying license in 1932 and piloted a flight from Karachi  to Madras and then established Tata Airlines, which later became Air India in 1946.  He also established TCS, Tata Motors, TISS, TIFR, Tata Steel and grew his group to top position. he was Air India Chairman from 1938 to 1977, when he was removed by PM Desai (for having supported Indira Gandhi during Emergency). He was made honorary Air Vice Marshal in 1974, awarded Padma Vibhushan and several global awards viz.,  French  Legion of Honour, also  UK and Canada. He  was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1992.

1953 – Anup Jalota,  legendary Bhajan and Ghazal singer. Called Bhajan Samrat, Jalota also acted in some films and contesteds Bigg Boss 2 in  2018. His  father  Purushottam Das Jalota  was  also a  known Bhajan singer. Anup received  Padma  Shri in  2012 and  several  other  music  accolades.

1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Bollywood actor son of famous  actor Sunil Dutt and heroine Nargis Dutt. He has played some very interesting and diverse roles in  films like Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai,  PK, Mission Kashmir, Agneepath, Rockey, Vidhaata, Naam, Sadak, Thanedar, Khalnayak, Jodi No. 1 etc. He has won 2 Filmfare,  3  Screen and  a Global Indian award and several other honors. Also acted in some Punjabi,  Tamil, Kannada, Telugu films.                                                         He had a history of  Drug use and alleged arms trafficing due to his relations with Bombay’s underworld {1993-98). He served a sentence and later restarted his life afresh thanks to his father Sunil Dutt’s help and  social appeals,  undergoing Pad Yatra thru’ South to North India.

RIP…. 2009 – Gayatri Devi, Ex-Maharani of Jaipur.  Famous as one of the most beautiful princess of India (born in Gwalior), she was the 3rd Maharani of Jaipur, married Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II.   She fought Lok Sabha election 1962 on Swatantra Party ticket  founded by  C Rajagoplachary and won 1969, 1971 elections too. Later she joined Jana Sangh (now BJP)  and became Party’s Vice President as well. She published  her autobiography  A Princess Remembers; an account of her life and Emergency days of 1975 (she spent over 5 months in Tihar Jail during this period. (her picture  with Jacquline Kennedy, wife of US President John F Kannedy) .  

You may have known…. The median age of the Indian population is 28.4 years. This means that half of the Indian    population is older than 28.4 years, and half is younger. The median age has been steadily increasing over time, reflecting factors like improved healthcare and increased life expectancy (chart credit-indianarrative.com).

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