Today’s Motto: ‘Life is not about what we couldn’t do so far, it is about WHAT WE STILL CAN !’

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

On this day, 11 Jul….

1405 – Chinese fleet commander Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.

1832 – British Parliament  (House of Commons),  finally rejected to remove the appeal of Hindus puritans against Sutee abolition (pic credit-ibtimes.uk.com).

1893 The first ‘cultured pearl’  is obtained by Kokichi Mikimoto.

1897 – Dr. Salomon August Andrée of Sweden lifted off in a balloon, the Eagle, which he had built himself. With two companions, he hoped to drift over the North Pole. (Nothing was heard of them for 33 years. Then on 6 Aug 1930, Norwegian explorers found the remains of a balloonist, debris from the balloon itself, diaries and photos on White Island. Just two days after their launch, an emergency landing on ice had been made. They eventually met their end in the bitter cold on the island, still hundreds of kilometres from the North Pole).

1924 – Muslim-Hindu  clashes occur  in Delhi. Clashes started by  IUML led by MA Jinnah and others.

1955 – Congress authorizes all US currency to say “In God We Trust“.

1975 – Chinese archeologists announced the uncovering of a 3-acre burial mound concealing 6,000 clay statues of warriors of and their regalia dating from 221 to 206 BC. The “Terracotta Army” was uncovered near the ancient capital of Xian. The 7,000 lifesize clay soldiers and horses were buried in pits in battle formation facing east to guard the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The figures were modelled after the emperor’s real army, and each face is different. The buried wonder was found in 1974 in the course of digging a well.

1985 – Zippers for stitches were announced by Dr. H. Harlan, who  used zippers instead of stitches on 28 patients, on whom he thought he might have to re-operate, because of internal bleeding following initial operations. The zippers which lasted between five and 14 days, were then replaced with permanent stitches. Current types of surgical zipper are self-adhesive in application and can be applied to both outpatients and inpatients. Uncomplicated wound inspection is possible from the third postoperative day. However, it is possible earlier with manual support to either side of the wound.

1987 – The world population crossed the five Billion mark. The United Nations had decided to observe 11 July as Population Day. (Today the World Population is more than 8.3 billion).

1988 – Boxer Mike Tyson hires Donald Trump as an advisor.

2000 – The da Vinci robot surgical system was the first to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in gallbladder, gastroesophageal reflux, and gynecologic operations.

2022 – New study suggests “dogs can See with their noses”, the first documentation of a direct connection between the ol  factory bulb and occipital lobe in any species

2006 – 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in trains in Mumbai.

Born…. 1902 – Baldev Singh. Punjabi-Sikh freedom fighter, politician who became first Defence Minister of Independent India.

1923 – Tuntun,  (Uma Devi  Khatri)  a very  versatile  film actress. comedian and singer.  She sang the melodious song Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon….and many more with Naushad and Kardar music tunes. She did  act and sing for old classics  Chandralekha, Babul, Aar-Paar, Mr. & Mrs 55, Pyasa and many later period films with Amitabh like Namak Halal etc.  The name Tuntun was given to her by  popular hero Dalip Kumar.

1934 – Giogilo Armani. Italian fashion designer,  readymade garments  tycoon, whose brand of dresses, novelties, gifts etc. made him one of the most saught after in Europe, America and world over. He had an estimated  worth of $ 8.0 Billion in 2017.

1953 – Suresh (Prabhakar) Prabhu. popular Maharashtra politician who won  Lok Sabha  elections from 1996  to 2009  on BJP  ticket. He was Railway Minister in Vajpayee Govt. and Defence, Industry, Civil Aviation and  others. He worked as PM Modi’s Sherpa in  G-7 and G-20 Forums.

1967 – Jhumpa Lahiri. Famous British-Indian-American  author, poet, short story writer. She has won Pulitzer and several other prizes.  Some of her stories have been.

RIP….  1957 – Aga Sultan Sir Muhammad, Aga Khan III, spritual leader of Ismaeli Muhammedans. He was extremly rich, he once had himself weighed against a sack of diamonds belonging to him. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League. He was nominated to represent India to the League of Nations in 1932 and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937 to 1938. During the three Round Table Conferences on India,  in London from 1930 to 1932, he played an important role to bring about Indian constitutional reforms.

2003 – Bhishma Sahni, a famous writer. He is considered a leading author of Premchand’s tradition in Hindi literature. From among his many famous works, a film was also produced on his novel ‘Tamas’ in the year 1986. He was awarded Padma Bhushan for Literature in 1998 and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002. He was the  younger brother of popular Bollywood actor Balraj Sahni.

You may have known…. Indian Railway has 7,469 railway stations (2024-2025).        

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