Today’s Motto: ‘To a happy person, life always looks wonderful’

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

On this day,  May. 02………

1536 – King Henry VIII accused Queen Anne Boleyn of adultery and incest. (Arrested on 2 May Anne was sent to the Tower of London, where she was tried before a jury of peers and found guilty on 15 May. She was beheaded four days later).

1800 – English chemist William Nicholson was the first to produce a chemical reaction by electricity. The new effect was discovered when wires from the poles of the battery being used came into contact with water and bubbles of gas were released as current flowed through the water. Closer examination of the electrolysis showed oxygen was released at the (positive) anode, and hydrogen appeared at the cathode. Electricity had separated the molecules of water.

1880 – An Edison “A” type dynamo was placed in operation to illuminate the passenger rooms and main salons of the S.S. Columbia. It was the first commercial order for Edison’s light bulb.

1902 – 1st science fiction film released, A Trip To The Moon (pic credit-IMDb).

1907 – Riots break out in Rawalpindi and East Bengal, spreading to the Punjab.  against  the Colonisation Bill that was implemented in the province in 1906. This timeline has often been called the beginning of the freedom movement in Punjab. Important leaders of this movement include Ajit Singh, Het Thakkar, among others.

1926 – Hindu women gain right to seek elected office.

1945 – Soviet Union captured Berlin in World War II. Later the Berlin Wall was erected in Sept. 1945, to devide the country  between  the Allied Forces (UK, America, Soviet Union etc.) and  the Axis  Powers  (Germany, Italy,  Japan etc.)

1953 – Declaration by  PM Nehru that India was opposed to joining any power-block in the event of another war.

1954 – Ceylon Asian Conference ends with plea for peace in Indo-China, end of atomic tests and condemnation of colonialism.

1968 – The Lok Sabha passed the Public Provident Fund Bill.

1974 – 700 Railway  Union leaders arrested in a move to avert a Rail strike in New Delhi led by George Fernandes, Madhu Limaye etc.

1998 – The Indian Army at Bandipura  (Kashmir)  market captured 10.5 Kg Charas.

2014 – The average monthly world   CO₂  centration exceeded 400 ppm in April; the U.N. has set a 450 ppm limit for all greenhouse gases to reduce climate impact; concentrations for CO2 and all greenhouse gases averaged 391 and 430 ppm, respectively, in 2011.

2018 – Indian city of Kanpur declared world’s most polluted city by WHO with 14 other Indian cities in the top 20 list.

2019 – A clean-up on Mt Everest has removed three metric tons of rubbish and four bodies in just two weeks.

Born…. 1921 – Satyajit Ray, screen writer, film director, a name taken with reverence in the international film world. His mother made sure to read him stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to nurture his young mind to story-telling.  He directed an produced several  classic films like Charulata, Aparajito, Shatranj Ke Khiladi (Munshi Premchand Novel), Pather Panchali, Kapurush, Nayak etc  His entire body of work was recognised with honours like Lègion d’Honneur (France), Bharat Ratna (India), Dada Saheb Phalke, Special Golden Lion of St. Mark (Venice), Magasaysay (Manila),  Cannes Gold, Gelden Bear, 2 Silver Bears and even Oscar’s Lifetime Achievement (USA). He won a record 37 National Film awards (pic credit-www.binged.com).

1926 – Mario Miranda, legendary cartoonist from Daman and Goa, worked for Times of India for several decades. He was awarded Padam Bhushan in 2002. (pics credit-Pinterest and Wikipedia).

RIP…. 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci. Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer. Da Vinci was a great engineer and inventor who designed buildings, bridges, canals, forts and war machines.

1974 – Frank Moraes (Francis Robert),  a  popular British  national and   journalist, who lived in India most of his  life and  edited several  Indian newspapers like The Morning Standard, The Times Ceylon, Times of India, Indian Express and wrote  several books like The Revolt in Tibet, Mao’s China, Biography of Jawaharlal Nehru  and  his  own  autobiography  Witness  to an  Era:India 1920  to the  Present  Day (1972)  etc. His son Dom Moraes was also a prominent  poet,  journalist.

1975 – Padmaja Naidu, the daughter of the famous Indian politician, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu. Like her mother, she also dedicated her whole life to the cause of India. National service as well as his humanitarian approach is always remembered.  She was  the  4th Goovernor  of West Bengal.

1981 – Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar, called the architect of modern Himachal Pradesh and an energetic Chief Minister from July 1963 to Jan. 1977.

2009 – K Balaji, South Indian film producer/director known for films like Billa, Sorgam, Raja etc. (pic credit-Wikipedia).

2011 – Osama bin Laden, the  mastermind behind the September 11, 2001  attacks on Times Towers Washington and Pentagon,  and the FBI’s most wanted man is killed by United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

You may have known….

1.   Tiger moths can jam bats’ echolocation by making ultrasonic clicks.

2.    India Post allows you to order personalised stamps with your picture on them.  Use MyStamp login and  order.  Minimum Rs. 300/- and IDs required alongwith  photo to be  displayed.                           {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}