St. Stephen's College founded in Delhi in 1881

 

St. Stephen's College, Delhi, founded on 1 February 1881, is the oldest college in Delhi. St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. Awarding both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, it is regarded as the most prestigious liberal arts college in India. It is often associated with elitism, as a place where the children of the rich and influential study.

In 2017, the governing body of the college unilaterally initiated a move toward making it an autonomous institution. In 2018, the plan was put on hold after the University Grants Commission received legal advice against passing a favourable decision.

Ranked eleventh among colleges in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2022, the institution has produced distinguished alumni in fields like politics, law, journalism, film and business. St. Stephen's College secured the second place on India Today's 2022 Best Liberal Arts colleges.

Werner Heisenberg Death Anniversary

Henri Pequet Birth Anniversary

 

Henri Pequet, born on 1 February 1888, was a pilot in the first official airmail flight on 18 February 1911. The 23-year-old Frenchman, in India for an airshow, delivered about 6,500 letters when he flew from an Allahabad polo field to Naini, about 10 kilometers away. He flew a Humber-Sommer biplane with about fifty horsepower (37 kW), and made the journey in thirteen minutes.

The letters were marked "First Aerial Post, U.P. Exhibition Allahabad 1911."

O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar Birth Anniversary

Kalpana Chawla Death Anniversary

 

Kalpana Chawla, who passed away on 1 February 2003, was an Indian-born American astronaut and aerospace engineer who was who was the first woman of Indian origin to fly to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robot arm operator aboard STS-87.

Chawla's second flight was onSTS-107, the final flight of Columbia, in 2003. She was one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on 1 February 2003. Chawla was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and several streets, universities, and institutions have been named in her honor

William Clark Gable Birth Anniversary

 

William Clark Gable, born on 1 February 1901, was an was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood", he had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.

 Gable won the Academy Award for Best Actor his role in the romantic comedy It Happened One Night (1934). He was further Oscar-nominated for his roles as Fletcher Christian in the drama Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and Rhett Butler in the historical romance drama Gone with the Wind (1939). He received Golden Globe Award nominations for his comedic roles in Teacher’s Pet (1958), and But Not For Me (1959). He also starred in Call of the Wild (1935), Key to the City (1950), and Mogambo (1953). His final on-screen role was as an aging cowboy in The Misfits (1961).

Gable was one of the most consistent box-office performers in the history of Hollywood, appearing on Quigley Publishing's annual Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll sixteen times. He appeared opposite many of the most popular actresses of their time. He frequently acted alongside Joan Crawford, Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, Norma Shearer and Ava Gardner. Gable died of a heart attack at the age of 59.

Postal Life Insurance introduced in India in 1884

 

Postal Life Insurance (PLI) was introduced on 1 February 1884 in India. It started as a welfare scheme for the benefit of postal employees and was later extended to the employees of the Telegraph Department in 1888. In 1894, PLI extended insurance cover to female employees of the erstwhile P & T Department at a time when no other insurance company covered female lives. It is the oldest life insurer in this country. Over the years, PLI has grown substantially from a few hundred policies in 1884 to more than 50 Lacs policies as on 31.03.2021. It now covers employees of Central and State Governments, Defence and Para-Military Services, Public Sector Undertakings, Banks, Educational Institutions, Local Bodies, professionals (such as doctors, engineers, chartered accountants, MBAs, lawyers, etc.) and employees of companies listed with National Stock Exchange(NSE)/ Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Mary Shelley Death Anniversary

 

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who passed away on 1 February 1851, in London, was an English Romantic novelist best known as the author of Frankenstein.

Mary Shelley’s best-known book is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818, revised 1831), a text that is part Gothic novel and part philosophical novel; it is also often considered an early example of science fiction. It narrates the dreadful consequences that arise after a scientist has artificially created a human being.  (The man-made monster in this novel inspired a similar creature in numerous American horror films.) She wrote several other novels, including Valperga (1823), The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837); The Last Man (1826), an account of the future destruction of the human race by a plague, is often ranked as her best work. Her travel book History of a Six Weeks’ Tour (1817) recounts the continental tour she and Shelley took in 1814 following their elopement and then recounts their summer near Geneva in 1816.

Late 20th-century publications of her casual writings include The Journals of Mary Shelley, 1814–1844 (1987), edited by Paula R. Feldman and Diana Scott-Kilvert, and Selected Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1995), edited by Betty T. Bennett.

Indian Coast Guard Day

The Indian Coast Guard Day is celebrated on February 1 every year to honour organisations that look after maritime safety.

On August 18, 1978, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Day was officially established by the Indian Parliament to be celebrated on February 1.

The Indian Coast Guard is responsible to safeguard and protect the coastline of India which includes 9 states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal) and union territories (Daman and Diu and Puducherry).

On August 12, 2008, the Department of Posts, India issued a set of four commemorative postage stamps on Indian Coast Guard which I share as a miniature sheet issue with this post. The miniature sheet depicts the coordinated air and surface capability of the Indian Coast Guard against a backdrop of a serene blue sea merging with clear skies in the horizon.

The stamps have been designed to highlight the relationship between the Maritime Waters of India and the Indian Coast Guard. The first two stamps highlight the air capabilities of the Indian Coast Guard, showing a Dornier Fixed Wing Aircraft and an Advanced Light Helicopter. The Dornier has played a major role in locating vessels in distress, intercepting suspected pirates and spotting vessels carrying contraband. The Advanced Light Helicopter and the Chetak are extremely well suited for rescue operations at sea. Both also act as a communication link during operations at sea. The surface capability of the Coast Guard is shown through stamps depicting a Hover Craft and an Advance Offshore Patrol Vessel. The Hover Craft is an amphibious vessel capable of both near shore and deep sea operations. Patrol vessels are the mainstay of the Coast Guard. They are well armed and capable of dealing with a variety of emergencies at sea.