Today’s Motto: ‘Life is too short to waste time on wondering, what other people think about you’

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

On this day, 13 Aug ….

1784 – British parliament accepts East India Company Act 1784, bringing the East India Company’s rule in India under the control of the British Government.

1889 – William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for a coin-operated telephone.

1913 – The first true stainless steel was cast in Sheffield, England. English metallurgist, Harry Brearley was developing a more erosion-resistant steel for rifle barrels.

1956 – National Highways Act was approved by Indian Parliament.

1960 – The first two-way telephone conversation by satellite took place with the help of Echo 1, a balloon satellite.

1985 – Jamie Gavin, age 3, of Dublin, Ireland, became the world’s youngest heart and lung transplant patient.

1997 – The contentious Women’s Reservation bill put on the back burner with PM Gujral saying govt. would not push through such a major social legislation until there was a consensus on it.

2015 – Swedish Prosecutors announce they are dropping allegations against Wikileaks founderJulian Assange of sexual molestation and coercion.

2017 – More than 60 children are reported to have died at Gorakhpur Hospital.

Born….1936 – Vyjayathimala,  veteran Bollywood and  Thrivellikeni (Tamil Nadu) born actress and Bharatnatyam/ dancer. She did several  Jubilee making films with legendary Raj Kapoor (like Sangam, Ganga Jamuna),  with Dilip Kumar (Devdas, Naya Daur, New Delhi) and more Madhumati, Saadhna, Ganwar,  Devta, Patrani, Kudrat etc.  She was awarded Sangeet Kala Akademy award, Padma Vibhushan, 4 Filmfare and Lifetime Achievement and sevral national/international  dance, art  and  filmy awards (pics credit-www.thepersonage.com and www.listal.com).

1952 – Yogeeta Bali, Bollywood actress. A distant relative of Geeta Bali and clousin of film maker Abrar Alvi,  she acted in films like Nagin, Be-Shaque, Zamin aasman, Biwi-o-Biwi, Parwana, Ganga Tera Pani Amrit, Mem Saheb, Buniyad, Raaj Tilak, Jheel ke Us Paar  etc. She marrieds legendary Kishore Kumar(1976-78)  and then Mithun Chakrborty.

1963  – Sridevi Kapoor, South dance and  one of the greatest actor actresses who  did Tamil, Telugu, Hindi films like Mom,  Nagina, Mr. India,  Lamhe, Chandni. English-Vinglish etc. She won several Kerala State Film awards, Filmfare, StarDust and Nandi awards. Was also awarded Padma Shri by Govt. of India in 2013.

RIP…. 1795 – Ahilyabai Holkar, the Holkar Queen of the Maratha ruled Malwa kingdom. (She tried to protect her kingdom from plundering Muslim invaders and personally led armies into battle. She was a great builder and patron of many Hindu temples which embellished Maheshwar and Indore. She also built temples and Dharmshala (free lodging) at sacred sites outside her kingdom, at prominent religious places like Dwarka in Gujarat east to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi on the Ganges, Ujjain, Nasik, Vishnupad Mandir, Gaya and Parali Baijnath in Maharashtra).

1910 – Florence Nightingale, the English nurse and statistician, “The Lady With The Lamp,” who established modern nursing practice.

Tidbits…. 2015 – The US government formally returns Picasso’s painting La Coiffeuse to France after it was stolen from Paris’ National Museum of Modern Art in 2001.

You may have known….Population projection in India – 2030: 146.1 Crore, 2040:157.2 Crore, 2050: 165.7 Crore. (In 2024 India was 145.09 Cr).                             {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R)  Raj Kadyan}