Today’s Motto: ‘There is no elevator to success’

This is Your Day-TODAY: Take a Determined Step Forward and Make History! 

On this day,  Jul 04……….

1776 – US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Britain. (1st Independence Day celebration was held in 1796).

1789 – British East India Company signed a treaty with the Nizam of Hydrabad and Peshwa of Pune against Tipu Sultan, King of Mysore, on the understanding that a cavalry of 10,000 would attack Tipu’s territory and the conquered area would be divided amongst the three.

1802 – US Military Academy (West Point) officially opens.

1874 – The first steel-arch bridge in the U.S. was opened. This two-tier triple-arch steel bridge was the first major bridge to use steel and cantilevered construction.

1884 – Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris.

1894 – Elwood Haynes successfully tested his one-horsepower, one-cylinder vehicle at 6 or 7 mph at Kokomo, Indiana. This was the first automobiles built. Now on exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Hayne’s vehicle is the oldest American-made automobile in existence.

1920 – Scientists at Dupont’s Redpath laboratory conducting an experiment, researching for a nitrocellulose pencil lacquer, by accident discovered a substance capable of retaining an unusually intense amount of pigment. This led to the development of a new, quick drying, colourful automotive lacquer, named Duco, which revolutionised car finishing. Thus ended the reign of black as the only practical, durable colour available for cars.

1997 – Indian government frees from its control nine top public sector undertakings, accounting for over Rs. 10,000 crore profits annually, to become global giants by providing them full financial and operational autonomy. This included newsprint and paper from licensing controls.

1999 – Over 500 children of Kargil migrants take out a procession to Batalik in a show of solidarity with the Indian Army.

2002 – An elephant’s two tusks were fitted with stainless steel dental caps 19-in long by 5-in diameter in Canada. This is a world’s record of largest dental caps.

2015 – Unesco grants World Heritage Status to vineyards in Champagne, France along with Singapore’s Botanical Gardens, Diyarbakir Fortress (Turkey) and Maymand Caves (Iran).

2018 – Chinese technology company Baidu announces it has begun mass production of self-driving buses, the 14-seat Apolong.

2019 – Egypt claims 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun bust is stolen as it sells for $6 million at auction at Christies.

2021 – Researchers reveal there are 14 living descendants of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Born….

1790 – Sir George Everest, Welsh military engineer,  surveyer and geodesist who worked on the trigonometrical survey of India providing the accurate mapping of the Indian  subcontinent. (Mount Everest, formerly called Peak XV, was renamed in his honour in 1865).

1900 – Swami Shivanand Saraswati, Yoga, spiritual,  religious leader who lived over 125 years.

1959 – Neena Gupta, popular Bollywood and TV actor. Born in Calcutta, studi

ed in Delhi (M.A, in Sanskrit) and  joined theatre. Her popular films and sertials are Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro,  Gandhi, Badhai Ho, Mirza Ghalib, Mandi, Suraj Ka Saatvan Ghoda, In Custody, Yatra, Bharat Ek Khoj  etc. Had many  affairs including with former West Indies captain Vivian Richards. Won 2 National Film awards, 2 Filmfare awards and many others.

RIP……

1902 – Swami Vivekananda, (Narendra Vishwanath Dutta), a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. Indian Hindu, vedanta,  spiritual leader  and a key figure in the introduction of Yoga to the Western world. He addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 and preached Vedanta to West. Was recognised as Divine Right by Western Media. Then he toured US, UK and Europe extensively. Founded the Ramakrishna Math under Ramakrishna Mission  in Bengal.   (Died  on July 04, 1902,  while meditating, at 39).

You may have known….

The largest lawsuit ever was filed by Anton Purisima of New York city who claimed he was bitten by a rabid dog. It was for $2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 – far more money than exists on earth.

                                                                                                                                                   {Compiled by Lt. Gen. (R) Raj Kadyan}