Ludwig Guttman's Death Anniversary

Sir Ludwig Guttmann CBE FRS who passed away on 18 March 1980, aged 80, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewish doctor who fled Nazi Germany just before the start of the Second World War, Guttmann was a founding father of organized physical activities for people with disabilities.

In 1866, Allahabad High Court established

 

Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that had jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high courts to be established in India. It has two active High court Seats - the Principal Seat in Allahabad and Bench in Lucknow.

In 1973, current London Bridge officially opened

 

On March 16, 1973, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the current London Bridge, a prestressed concrete box girder structure. The bridge, replacing a 19th-century predecessor that was sold and moved to Arizona, was constructed between 1967 and 1972 while traffic continued, and it serves as a key crossing connecting the City of London with Southwark. 

Key Facts About the March 16 Opening:

• Official Opening: Queen Elizabeth II opened the new bridge on March 16, 1973.
• The Bridge's Design: The current, present-day London Bridge is a concrete and steel box girder bridge designed by Lord Holford and engineered by Mott, Hay and Anderson.
• The Predecessor: The previous 1831 London Bridge was sold for £1 million, dismantled, and rebuilt in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
• Bridge Maintenance: The bridge is maintained by Bridge House Estates, a charitable body. 

The date holds significance as the inauguration of the modern structure that commuters use today, which spans approximately 269 meters over the Thames. 

In 1950, The Planning Commission of India was established

The Planning Commission of India, established on March 15, 1950, played a pivotal role in shaping India's economic trajectory through its Five-Year Plans, with the first plan launched in 1951. While there isn't a single famous commemorative stamp dedicated solely to the institution of the Planning Commission itself, the themes it promoted—industry, agriculture, and development—are strongly represented in Indian philately from that era. 

 

Constitution Day in Andorra

 

Observed in the Principality of Andorra on March 14 annually, Constitution Day is a public holiday that commemorates the constitutional referendum held on this day in Andorra on March 14, 1993. The first Constitution of Andorra was approved by 74.2% of voters in the country on this date and became the country’s first constitution.

This constitution contained 107 articles and included a universal declaration of human rights. Under this constitution, all people in Andorra are equal under the law, and it forbids not only torture and other cruel forms of punishment but also the death penalty as well.

in 1913, Mumbai GPO completes its construction

The Mumbai General Post Office (GPO) has a historic connection to 13 March, as the construction of its iconic heritage building was completed on 13 March 1913. 

Key Facts About the Building

• Architectural Significance: Designed by British architect John Begg in 1902, the structure is a masterpiece of Indo-Saracenic architecture.
• Design Inspiration: It is modelled after the Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur, Karnataka, and features the second-largest dome in India.
• Construction: Work began on 1 September 1904 and took over eight years to complete at a total cost of ₹1,809,000.
• Materials: The exterior prominently uses black basalt with dressings of yellow Kurla stone and white stones from Dhrangdra.

 

William Henry Bragg's Death Anniversary

William Henry Bragg, who passed away on 12 March 1942, in London, United Kingdom, aged 79,was a British physicist. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, Bragg spent 23 years teaching at the University of Adelaide in Australia, before returning to the University of Leeds in 1909.  There, working with his son William Lawrence, he invented the X-ray spectrometer in 1912, which allowed them to measure the wavelengths of X-rays. X-rays had only been discovered in 1895, and scientists were not entirely sure that they were electromagnetic waves like light and radio waves. The Braggs showed that they are, and that if you bounce X-rays off solid crystals at very slight angles, then the waves are reflected at different angles, depending on their wavelength, which one could now measure. 

The pioneer British scientist in solid-state physics was a joint winner (with his son Sir Lawrence Bragg) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1915 for his research on the determination of crystal structures. The Braggs remain the only father-son Nobel Laureates.  He was knighted in 1920.