Damodaram Sanjivayya's Birth Anniversary

 

Damodaram Sanjivayya, born on 14 February 1921, was the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, India from 11 January 1960 to 12 March 1962. Sanjivayya was the first Dalit Chief Minister of an Indian state. He wrote a book on Labour problems and industrial development in India, in 1970 published by Oxford and IBH Pub. Co., New Delhi. He introduced pension system for widows, elderly people, he established Lalitha kala academy in Andhra pradesh, he was the youngest chief minister ever in India, he introduced the office of Anticorruption Bureau {ACB}, he completed the irrigation projects like Gajuladinne in Kurnool dist., Vamsadhara, Pulichintala and varadarajula swamy project near Atmakur in Kurnool dist.

Chuck Yeager's Birth Anniversary

 

Chuck Yeager, born on 13 February 1923, was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.

Yeager enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1941, shortly after graduating from high school, and was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He was commissioned a reserve flight officer in 1943 and became a pilot in the fighter command of the Eighth Air Force stationed in England. He flew 64 missions over Europe during World War II, shot down 13 German aircraft, and was himself shot down over France (he escaped capture with the help of the French underground). After the war he became a flight instructor and then a test pilot, securing a regular commission as a captain in 1947.

Yeager was chosen from several volunteers to test-fly the secret experimental X-1 aircraft, built by the Bell Aircraft Company to test the capabilities of the human pilot and a fixed-wing aircraft against the severe aerodynamic stresses of sonic flight. On October 14, 1947, over Rogers Dry Lake in southern California, he rode the X-1, attached to a B-29 mother ship, to an altitude of 25,000 feet (7,600 metres). The X-1 then rocketed separately to 40,000 feet (12,000 metres), and Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier, which was approximately 662 miles (1,066 km) per hour at that altitude. The feat was not announced publicly until June 1948. Yeager continued to make test flights, and on December 12, 1953, he established a world speed record of 1,650 miles (2,660 km) per hour in an X-1A rocket plane.

In 1954 Yeager left his post as assistant chief of test-flight operations at Edwards Air Force Base in California to join the staff of the Twelfth Air Force in West Germany.

Following other routine assignments, he returned to Edwards in 1962 as commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School with the rank of colonel. In 1968 he took command of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing. He retired from the air force with the rank of brigadier general in 1975. His autobiography, Yeager, was published in 1985.

Charles Darwin's Birth Anniversary

 

Charles Darwin, born on 12 February 1809, was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted, and considered a foundational concept in science. In a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.

Deendayal Upadhyaya's Death Anniversary

 

Deendayal Upadhyaya, who passed away on 11 February 1968, was an Indian politician and thinker of RSS ideology, and former leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party. He became president of the Jana Sangh in December 1967. He died in mysterious circumstances; his body was found on 11 February 1968 on a railway track near Mughalsarai Junction railway station. The railway station was later renamed in his honour in 2018, 50 years after his death.

International Cribbage Day

International Cribbage Day is celebrated annually on February 10. This date was chosen to honour the birthday of Sir John Suckling (born February 10, 1609), the English poet and gambler credited with inventing the game in the early 17th century.

T. Balasaraswati's Death Anniversary

T. Balasaraswati, who passed away on 9 February 1984, was a celebrated Indian dancer, and singer in the Karnatak (South Indian) tradition, who was one of the 20th century’s foremost exponents of the bharata natyam style of classical dance. She was instrumental not only in expanding the performance of this dance form beyond the precincts of the temples where it was traditionally performed but also in cultivating international appreciation of the art form.

For her contributions to Indian arts and culture, Balasaraswati received a Sangeet Natak Akademi (India’s national academy of music, dance, and drama) award in 1955 and the Padma Vibhushan, one of the country’s top civilian honours, in 1977. Although she danced extensively throughout her life, she was seldom filmed. In 1976, however, the acclaimed Indian film director Satyajit Ray made a short documentary, Bala, as a tribute to her artistic achievement. In 2006 Aniruddha Knight, Balasaraswati’s grandson, also produced a short documentary.

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi's Death Anniversary

 

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, who passed away on 8 February 1971, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, he later turned to author and politician. He is a well-known name in Gujarati literature. He founded Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, an educational trust, in 1938.