Today’s Motto: ‘Our doubt can create mountains and our faith can move them’

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

On this day, Mar. 30……..

1791 – After a proposal by the Académie des sciences, the French National Assembly finally chose that a metre would be a 1/10 000 000 of the distance between the north pole and the equator.

1842 – Physician Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, first used ether as an anaesthetic during a minor operation. He placed an ether-soaked towel over the face of James Venable and removed a tumour from his neck. This event predated Morton’s public demonstration of ether by four years.

1843 – The first U.S. patent for an egg incubator was issued to Napoleon E. Guerin of New York City. It described a “mode of distributing steam heat, purifying air, etc.” for hatching chickens by artificial heat.

1844 – The 30 Mar issue of the Illustrated London News reported the construction in Paris of a “vast balloon of copper. It was about 10-yards diam, of copper sheets 1/200-inch thick, weighed 800-lb, would contain 100-lb of hydrogen, and the Parisian journals stated that a French aeronaut would ascent with it.

1858 – The first U.S. patent for a combination lead pencil and eraser was issued to Hyman L. Lipman, of Philadelphia.

1919 – MK Gandhi announces resistance against Rowlatt Act.(The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 popularly known as the Rowlatt Act was a legislative act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on March 18, 1919, indefinitely extending the emergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without trial and judicial review enacted in the Defence of India Act 1915 during the First World War).

1923 – The Cunard liner Laconia arrived in New York City, becoming the first passenger ship to circumnavigate the world, a cruise of 130 days.

1949 – New Union of Greater Rajasthan was ceremonially inaugurated by Patel when the existing Union of Rajasthan was joined by four premier states of Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Hiralal Shastri became its first Chief Minister.

1959 – Dalai Lama fled China & was granted political asylum in India.

1981 – US President Ronald Reagan was shot at close range as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel about one mile from the White House. The attacker John Hinckley, was charged with trying to assassinate the president and in the following June, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to hospital. (pic credit-Vanity Fair)

1987 – An anonymous foreign buyer purchased Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece ‘Sunflowers’ for nearly $36.3 million.

1999 – A jury in Portland, Oregon, in a landmark case ordered Philip Morris to pay $81 million to the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four decades.

2013 – North Korea declares it is at a state of war with South Korea.

2018 – Palestinians begin a “Great March of Return”, 6 weeks of protests on the Gaza Strip demanding Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to Israel. 19 Palestinians killed, 1,416 injured on the first day.

2023 – Key figures in Artificial Intelligence including Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple) sign open letter warning the race to develop AI systems is out of control, asking for suspension for at least six months.

Born….

1908 – Devika Rani, famous film actress. She is widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema.  She acted in Prem Sanyas (1925), Achhut Kanya, Karma, Jeevan Naiya, Jawani ki Hawa, Jeevan Prabhat etc. She was given Padam Shri and Dada Saheb Phalke awards. (pic credit-International Roerich Trust)

1913 – B. S. Soman, first Admiral of India appoibted in 1962.

RIP….

2002 – Anand Bakshi,legendary lyricist. (Bakhshi Anand Prakash Vaid) was fond of writing poetry since his youth, but he did this mostly as a private hobby. He joined the Indian Army, Corps of Signals and left after serving little over two years. He got his break writing songs in a Brij Mohan film titled Bhalaa Aadmi in 1958). His memorable songs in  Do Raaste, Mohra, Mehbooba, Amar Akbar Anthony, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Roti, Hadh Kar di Aapne etc. won him 3 Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine and IIFA Awards. (video credit- Shemaroo Filmi Gaane;  pic-Wikipedia)

2002 – The Queen Mother (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon) died in her sleep  at the age of 101. She was the Emperor of UK, British colonies including India from Dec,1936 till Feb. 1952 and later on called Queen Mother until her death in 2002.(pic credit-GettyI mages)

You may have known….

The different definitions of a word in dictionary are called “senses”.

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