Today’s Motto: ‘When you rip a piece of paper into two, the seams never fit exactly right again…..

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

On this day, 24 May….

1830 – The first passenger railroad service began in America.

1830 – “Mary Had a Little Lamb” by Sarah Josepha Hale is published. ( It is an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale and was inspired by an actual incident. As a young girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb that she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. This expectedly led to a commotion. Mary recalled: “Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone. The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem…”

1862 – A field telegraph was used for the first time in U.S. warfare. This was the time of the American Civil War. An army general’s headquarters was connected by wire to an advance guard several miles away.

1875 – Syed Ahmad Khan founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School in Aligarh which is currently known as Aligarh Muslim University.

1991 – The body of Rajiv Gandhi was cremated in New Delhi. (His two children being too young, there was pressure for Sonia Gandhi to succeed her husband, but she refused).

1993 – Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia in Africa,  after 30-year civil war.

2001 – Fifteen-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

2004 – North Korea banned mobile phones in schools and at work places.

2018 – At least 14 children reportedly mauled to death by wild dogs near Khairabad, India after closure of slaughterhouses.

2018 – World’s largest cat-proof fence (44 km / 27.3 miles) completed at Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, central Australia to protect endangered species.

2022 – Leaders of the Quad nations, America, Australia, India and Japan meet in Tokyo, focusing on Chinese aggressions in the Indo-Pacific.

Born….  1686 – Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor of the alcohol thermometer (1709) and mercury thermometer (1714). He also developed the Fahrenheit temperature scale.

1813 – Krishna Mohan, a 19th-century Indian thinker who attempted to rethink Hindu philosophy, religion, and ethics in  under the influence  of Christian ideas.  He  became a Christian,  was the first Indian/Bengali to be a Preist ion the Church. He joined  Royal Asiatyic Society alongwith Ishwar Chandra Vidysagar  and set up Bengal Christian Association.

1844 – Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message, “What hath God wrought!” from the U.S. Supreme Court room Washington D.C. to his partner, Alfred Vail, in the Mount Clare station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. Vail responded by retransmitting the same message back to Morse. Thus, Morse formally opened America’s first telegraph line, an event that inaugurated America’s telegraph industry. Morse was profusely honoured and awarded by many European countries like Prussia, France,  Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Turkey and Portugal but less in America.

1896 – Kartar Singh Sarabha, a revolutionary who became a member of the Ghadar Party at just 15-years-old, and then became a leading luminary member and started fighting for the Indian independence movement. He was one of the most active members of the movement. In November 1915 in Lahore, he was executed for his role in the movement when he was  just 19 years old.

1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam. Famous Indian poet, lyricist,  story writer, revolutionary of British Bengal. He was respected  by Bengalis all over, but he shifted to Bangladesh in 1972 and died  there in 1976. He was conferred National Poet of Bangladesh title in 1972 but Gazzetted in 1924.

1941 – Bob Dylan.( Robert Allen Zimmerman)  Popular American, singer  songwriter and musician. He was awarrded Nobel Prize for Literature (Music).

1955 – Rajesh Roshan Nagarath, popular music director. Son of legendary music director Roshan, younger  brother of veteran actor Rakesh Roshan and uncle of Hrithik Roshan. His music renditions  in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, Koi Mil Gaya, Karan Arjun, Krish series etc. were immiediate hits. (pic credit-Wikipedia).

1965 – Rajdeep Sardesai, a senior journalist. Son of legendary cricket Dilip Sardesai. Anchor, Editor of India Today Television and earlier Global Broadcast News group. (pic credit-OpIndia)

1982 – Muhammed Rafi.  Kerala footbal+ler. Played for Indian team and AFC.

RIP….1999 –  Guru Hanuman (Vijay Pal Yadav).  Legendary  wrestling coach Dronacharya awardee passed away in a road accident near Meerut. He had set up a Guru Hanuman Akhara and Vyayamshala in North Delhi.  He coached many  Asian, Olympics Games  award winning  wrestlers like  Satpal, Virender Singh, Sushil Kumar, Subhash Verma, Rajiv Tomar, Anil Mann etc. He was also the coach of famous Dara Singh and SS Randhawa.  He was honoured with  Dronacharya and Padma Shri awards.

2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, a revolutionary poet and songwriter. Real name Asrar Ul Hassan Khan, he changed it to ‘Majrooh’, which means ‘wounded’ and suffixed it with the place he was from in UP. Starting with ‘Shajahan’ he wrote lyrics for over 300 films. The song ‘Chahunga main tujhe saanjh savere’ from ‘Dosti’, won him the first and only Filmfare Award. (One of his most famous verse was ‘Main akela hee chala tha janib-e manzil magar, log saath aate gaye aur caravan banta gaya’.  (pic credit-Mumbai Mirror).

 2005 – Ismail Merchant, famous  film director, who directed and produced film like Shakespearwala, Heat and Dust, Howards End,.Merchant Ivory, Mr. & Mrs Bridge etc. Was awarded National Film award, Padam Bhushan, BFTA etc.(pic credit-IM)

You may have known…. 1.  The low pressure and humidity in airplanes changes the sensitivity of people’s taste buds, so airlines food is made sweeter and saltier than normal.

2. India is No. 1  country  growing  Mangoes,  grows over 25 million tons of mangoes every year.  Malayasia, Pakistan,  China and Japan  follow in smaller quantities.  Though    Miyazaki, the Red mango variety of the friut grown in Japan is the most costliest one  (Rs. 25-30,000 per kg).                                             {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}