Sir Alexander Fleming's Death Anniversary

 

Sir Alexander Fleming, who passed away on 11 March 1955, aged 73, in London, England, was a Scottish physician and microbiologist. He shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases”. This was the first antibiotic substance discovered. His discovery in 1928 of what was later named benzylpenicillin (or penicillin G) from the mould Penicillium rubens has been described as the "single greatest victory ever achieved over disease".

He also discovered the enzyme lysozyme from his nasal discharge in1922, and along with it a bacterium he named Micrococcus lysodeikticus, later renamed Micrococcus luteus. Fleming was knighted for his scientific achievements in 1944. In 1999, he was named in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20^th century. In 2002, he was included in the BBC’s television poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, and in 2009, he was also voted third “greatest Scot” in an opinion poll conducted by STV, behind only Robert Burns and William Wallace.

 

Kusumāgraj's Death Anniversary

Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, popularly known by his pen name, Kusumāgraj, who passed away on 10 March 1999, aged 87, in Shirwade Wani, Nashik, Maharashtra, India, was a Marathi poet, playwright, novelist and short story writer, who wrote of freedom, justice and emancipation of the deprived.

In a career spanning five decades starting in India's pre-independence era, he wrote 16 volumes of poems, three novels, eight volumes of short stories, seven volumes of essays, 18 plays and six one-act plays. His works like the Vishakha (1942), a collection of lyrics, inspired a generation into the Indian freedom movement, and is today considered one of the masterpieces of Indian literature.

He was the recipient of the 1974 Sahitya Akademi Award in Marathi for Natsamrat, Padma Bhushan (1991) and the Jnanapith Award in 1987.

He also served as the President of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Margao in 1964.

Amerigo Vespucci's Birth Anniversary

Amerigo Vespucci, born on 9 March 1454, in Florence, Italy, was an Italian merchant, explorer, and navigator from the Republic of Florence, from whose name the term "America" is derived. Between 1497 and 1504, Vespucci participated in at least two voyages of the Age of Discovery, first on behalf of Spain and then for Portugal.

in 1618, Third Law of Planetary Motion discovered

On March 8, 1618, Johannes Kepler discovered his Third Law of Planetary Motion, often called the Law of Harmonies. 

This breakthrough provided the mathematical link between a planet's distance from the Sun and the time it takes to complete an orbit. Kepler famously described the moment as an "epiphany" after nearly a decade of gruelling calculations.

Govind Ballabh Pant's Death Anniversary

Govind Ballabh Pant, who passed away on 7 March 1961, aged 73, in New Delhi, was an Indian independence activist and politician who was the first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel, Pant was a key figure in the Indian independence movement and later a pivotal figure in the Indian government. He was one of the foremost political leaders of Uttar Pradesh (then known as United Provinces) and a key player in the successful movement to establish Hindi as the official language of Indian Union.

Today, several Indian hospitals, educational institutions and foundations bear his name. Pant received India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1957.

National Frozen Food Day (United States)

 

National Frozen Food Day is observed annually on March 6th to celebrate the convenience, innovation, and nutritional value of frozen foods. Established by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, the day honours the development of modern freezing techniques. It is a day to highlight how frozen foods help reduce food waste and provide easy, healthy meal options. 

 

Biju Patnaik's Birth Anniversary

 

Bijayananda Patnaik, commonly known as Biju Patnaik, born in Cuttack on 5 March 1916, was an Indian politician, aeronautical engineer, navigator, industrialist, pilot and freedom fighter. He served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the State of Odisha from 1990 to 1995 and from 1961 to 1963.