1621
Guru Teg Bahadur Singh, Sikh Guru, was born.
1799
The Church Missionary Society was organized in London under the original name of the Society for Missions in Africa and the East. This Anglican missions agency currently works in fields located in Africa, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, Iran and Palestine.
1801
William Carey fort was appointed the Professor of Bengali Language in fort at William College, Calcutta.
1801
Ranjit Singh proclaimed himself Maharaja of Punjab.
1861
The bloodiest four years in American history begin when Confederate shore batteries under General P.G.T. Beauregard open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Bay. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. On April 13, U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort.
1871
Gangadhar Balkrishna Deshpande, editor in modern era and dictionary creator, was born.
1913
Gandhiji in Indian Opinion draws attention to new Immigration Bill’s failure to fulfil terms of Provisional Settlement of 1911. Kasturba decides to join Passive Resistance struggle.
1936
Nehru urges Socialism for India.
1942
Nehru pledges ‘no surrender’ to the Axis despite the rejection of Britain’s plans at New Delhi.
1945
While on a vacation in Warm Springs, Georgia, President Roosevelt suffers a stroke and dies. His death marked a critical turning point in U.S. relations with the Soviet Union, as his successor, Harry S. Truman, decided to take a tougher stance with the Russians.
1961
On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician also became the first man to orbit the planet, a feat accomplished by his space capsule in 89 minutes. Vostok 1 orbited Earth at a maximum altitude of 187 miles and was guided entirely by an automatic control system. The only statement attributed to Gagarin during his one hour and 48 minutes in space was, “Flight is proceeding normally; I am well.”
1967
U. Thant,UN Secretary General, receives the first Nehru Award for international understanding.
1978
After several state victories, Congress party-I (for Indira) is recognized as official opposition.
1978
India’s first double decker train was started between Victoria Terminus (CST) and Pune which beared the name as “”Janta Express””, which is now known under the name of Shivaji’s fort as “”Singhgarh Expr
1981
The space shuttle Columbia is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, becoming the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space. Piloted by astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young, the Columbia undertook a 54-hour space flight of 36 orbits before successfully touching down at California’s Edwards Air Force Base on April 14.
1992
The 350-tonne Buddha statue salvaged from the Hussain Sagar where it had sunk in 1990.
Related Articles: