Nelson Mandela released from prison after 27 years in 1990

 

On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.

Thomas Edison Birth Anniversary

 

Thomas Edison, born on 11 February 1847, was an American inventor and businessman who has been described as America's greatest inventor. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long-lasting, practical electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world. He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.

Sidney Sheldon Birth Anniversary

 

Sidney Sheldon, born on 11 February 1917, was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947), which earned him an Oscar in 1948. He went on to work in television, where over 20-years he created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70), and Hart to Hart (1979–84). After turning 50, he began writing best-selling romantic suspense novels, such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973), and Rage of Angels (1980).

Goa Carnival 2024 - February 10 - 13

The Goa Carnival is an annual event that takes place in four different locations in the coastal state of Goa, in India.

The event is led by the Carnival King Momo and features elaborate floats and performances by various cultural groups.

The Carnival is a great opportunity to experience different aspects of Goan culture and is a great time to indulge in local delicacies.

Goa Carnival 2024 will be celebrated from February 10-13 in four major locations in Goa - Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa. The float parade is always set in that order of major cities in the State from Saturday to Tuesday, which is followed by the 40-day Lenten season and then, the joyous Easter in the Roman Catholic calendar.

India's first Test match win

 

On 10 February 1952, India’s first Test match victory. In 1952, when Vijay Hazare’s side made history by beating England by an innings and 8 runs at Chepauk, the team members congratulated each other and went home with their booty of Rs 250 per head.

When Man Lost to Computer

 On 10 February 1996, Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in the first game of a six-game match—the first time a computer had ever beat a human in a formal chess game. Two other games in that match were draws. The next year, Kasparov and Blue faced off again and Kasparov lost the match. It was a new frontier in computing.

“The result was met with astonishment and grief by those who took it as a symbol of mankind’s submission before the almighty computer,” Kasparov wrote in 2010. It was a pivotal moment in computing, one that changed both computers and chess forever.

Two decades later, computers now regularly beat humans at chess, writes Klint Finley for Wired. The great contest of man-versus-computer chess is over. “Today, for $50, you can buy a home PC program that will crush most grandmasters,” Kasparov wrote. The search for a computer that can beat even the best at chess was only really interesting between 1994, when computers were too weak, and 2004, when they got too strong.  

Penny Red issued in 1841

 

The Penny Red is a British postage stamp, issued on 10 February 1841. It succeeded the Penny Black and continued as the main type of postage stamp in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 3 December 1879, with only minor changes to the design during that time. The colour was changed from black to red because of difficulty in seeing a cancellation mark on the Penny Black a black cancel was readily visible on a Penny Red.

Initially some of same plates that were used to print the Penny Black were used to print the Penny Red and stamp had no perforations, and had to be cut from the sheet using scissor in the same manner as for the Penny Black and the early printing of the two pence Blue.