Ian Botham's Birthday

Ian Botham, born on 24 November 1955, is a British cricket commentator and a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017. Widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. He played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, and also for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and, as a right arm fast-medium bowler, was noted for his swing bowling. He generally fielded close to the wicket, predominantly in the slips. In Test cricket, Botham scored 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988, he held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. He took five wickets in an innings 27 times  and 10 wickets in a match four times. In 1980, he became the second player in Test history to complete the "match double" of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match.

Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859

 

On 24 November 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species.

Charles Darwin, was an English naturalist, geologist and biologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His proposition that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors is now widely accepted, and considered a foundational concept in science. In a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history, and he was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey.

Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara's Birth Anniversary

Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, born on 24 November 1877, was the first Indian to become the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Mumbai Police in 1928. He was in charge of the Crime Branch division and was noted for his intelligence network. A decorated officer, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE) and awarded the King's Police Medal (KPM). Petigara was also awarded the Imperial Service Order (ISO) and used the honorific title "Khan Bahadur". He joined the police force as a sub-inspector at the CID (Criminal Investigations Department), and gradually rose through the ranks. In 1928, he was promoted to the Indian Police Service rank, one that very few Indians achieved in those days.

Roald Dahl's Death Anniversary

 

Roald Dahl, who passed away on 23 November 1990, was a British author of popular children’s literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime fighter ace.  His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. He has been called "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".

Dahl's short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His children's books champion the kind-hearted and feature an underlying warm sentiment His works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, George’s Marvellous Medicine and Danny, the Champion of the World. His works for older audiences include the short story collections Tales of the Unexpected and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.

Geeta Dutt's Birth Anniversary

 

Geeta Dutt, born on 23 November 1930, was a prominent Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema. She also sang many modern Bengali songs, both in the film and non-film genre.

Geeta Dutt, mesmerised audiences with ‘Babuji Dhire Chalna'(Aar Paar – 1954) and ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu'(Howrah Bridge – 1958) Geeta who trained under K. Hanuman Prasad first sang in the mythological film ‘Bhakt Prahlad’ (1946). In a career of almost twenty-five years Geeta Dutt crooned over 1200 songs for Hindi films including ‘Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya’ (Do bhai – 1947) ‘Tadbir Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer’ (Baazi – 1951) ‘Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji’ (Mr. & Mrs. ’55 – 1955) ‘Aye dil hain mushkil’ (C.I.D – 1956) ‘Na Jao Saiyaan Chhuda Ke Baiyaan’ (Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam – 1962) etc. She last sang for music director Kanu Roy in ‘Anubhav’ (1971).

Jagadish Chandra Boses's Death Anniversary

 

Jagadish Chandra Bose, who passed away on 23 November 1937, was an Indian polymath, physicist, biologist, biophysicist, botanist and archaeologist, and an early writer of science fiction. He pioneered the investigation of radio and microwave optics, made significant contributions to plant science, and laid the foundations of experimental science in the Indian subcontinent. IEEE named him one of the fathers of radio science. Bose is considered the father of Bengali science fiction, and also invented the crescograph, a device for measuring the growth of plants. A crater on the moon has been named in his honour.

Jhalkari Bai's Birth Anniversary

 

Jhalkari Bai, born on 22 November 1830, was a woman soldier who played an important role in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She served in the women's army of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi. She eventually rose to a position of a prominent advisor to the queen, Rani of Jhansi herself. At the height of the Siege of Jhansi, she disguised herself as the Queen and fought on her behalf, on the front, allowing the Queen to escape safely out of the fort.