International Cello Day

International Cello Day is celebrated annually on December 29.

Purpose and History

The day honours the cello, a bowed string instrument known for its deep, resonant, and "human-like" tone. It was officially founded by a group of cellists in 2015 to celebrate the instrument's versatility across classical, jazz, and even contemporary rock genres. 

Why December 29?

The date was chosen to commemorate the birthday of Pablo Casals (born 1876), a legendary Catalan cellist, composer, and conductor. Casals is widely credited with: 

Elevating the Cello: Transforming it from a secondary orchestral instrument to a prominent solo instrument.

The Bach Suites: Rediscovering and recording Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suites, which were previously dismissed as mere technical exercises.

International Cinema Day

 

International Cinema Day is celebrated annually on December 28. It marks the anniversary of the first public commercial film screening by the Lumière brothers at the Grand Café in Paris in 1895. 

On 28 December 1895, in the basement of the Grand Cafe in Paris (Le Salon Indien du Grand Cafe) on Boulevard des Capucines, the first public cinema show was held, where the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumiere showed the viewers 10 short films, among which was the famous short documentary The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station. During the screening of that film, the audience jumped from their seats and ran in horror away from the hall, fearing that the moving train on the screen would crush them. 

Each film was then 17 meters long, which, when hand cranked through a projector, ran approximately 50 seconds. From that moment, regular film screenings began, accompanied by a piano or a saxophone. The motion pictures were sometimes also accompanied by text below the images.

Establishnent of NIMHANS in 1974

 NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) was formally established in Bangalore on December 27, 1974, through the amalgamation of the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) and the Mysore Government Mental Hospital, becoming an autonomous body to lead in mental health and neuroscience education, research, and patient care. It later gained "Deemed University" status in 1994 and was declared an "Institute of National Importance" in 2012.  

Key Milestones:

• 1954: 

AIIMH started within the Mental Hospital premises, with Dr. MV Govindswamy as its director, fostering an interdisciplinary approach. 

• 1974: 

The formal merger of AIIMH and the State Mental Hospital created the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS). 

• 1994: 

Granted "Deemed University" status by the UGC, providing academic autonomy. 

• 2012: 

Declared an "Institute of National Importance" by an Act of Parliament. 

 

NIMHANS's Role:

Today, NIMHANS serves as a premier multidisciplinary center for patient care, advanced research, and training in mental health and neurosciences, attracting patients and researchers globally. 

Dr. Manmohan Singh's Death Anniversary

Dr. Manmohan Singh, who passed away on 26 December 2024, aged 92, was an eminent economist and statesman who served as the 14th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014.

Career Highlights

• Prime Minister (2004–2014): Leading the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), he was the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.
• Architect of Economic Reforms: As Finance Minister (1991–1996), he is credited with ushering in "liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation" (LPG), which shifted India toward a market-oriented economy and averted a balance of payments crisis.

• Key Offices Held:
• Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (1982–1985).
• Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (1985–1987).
• Member of the Rajya Sabha representing Assam and later Rajasthan for over three decades until his retirement in April 2024. 

Major Policy Achievements

• Civil Nuclear Deal: He successfully negotiated the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2008, a landmark shift in India's foreign and energy policy.
• Social Rights Legislation: His government introduced several transformative acts, including the Right to Information (RTI) Act (2005), the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) (2005), and the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
• Economic Growth: During his tenure, India experienced some of its highest average annual GDP growth rates, pulling millions out of poverty. 

Centigrade Temperature Scale Developed in 1741

Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius developed his original centigrade temperature scale on December 25, 1741. He presented his findings to the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden in 1742. 

It is worth noting that Celsius's original scale was the reverse of the one used today:

• He set the boiling point of water at 0 degrees.
• He set the freezing point of water at 100 degrees. 

The scale was reversed to its modern form (0° for freezing, 100° for boiling) shortly after his death, most notably by fellow Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus in 1745, to make it more practical for everyday use. The scale was officially renamed the "Celsius scale" in his honor in 1948 by an international conference. 

Bhanumathi's Death Anniversary

P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, who passed away on 24 December 2005, aged 80, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, writer, editor, studio owner and novelist. She is regarded as the first female superstar of Telegu cinema. She is also considered the first female director of Telugu cinema with her debut directorial Chandirani (1953). Bhanumathi appeared in over 100 films predominantly in Telegu and Tamil languages. She also acted in few Hindi and Kannada films. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for her contribution to the Indian cinema. She was honoured among "Women in Cinema" at the 30th International Film Festival of India.

 

First Transistor was successfully demonstrated in 1947

The first transistor was successfully demonstrated on December 23, 1947, at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. This demonstration followed a successful initial test conducted one week earlier on December 16, 1947. 

Key Facts of the Demonstration

• Inventors: The device was developed by physicists John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, under the direction of William Shockley.
• Technology: This first working model was a point-contact transistor made from a small slab of high-purity germanium with two closely spaced gold contacts.
• Performance: During the demonstration, the device operated as a speech amplifier with a power gain of approximately 18 (or 330 times in some experimental setups).
• Public Announcement: Although successfully demonstrated to lab management in late 1947, the invention was not publicly announced until a press conference on June 30, 1948.