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Rajendra Prasad

Rajendra Prasad

Dr. Rajendra Prasad (December 3, 1884–February 28, 1963) was the first President of India. Rajendra Prasad was a great freedom-fighter, and the architect of the Indian Constitution, having served as President of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of the Republic from 1948 to 1950. He had also served as a Cabinet Minister briefly in the first Government of Independent India. He was a crucial leader of the Indian Independence Movement.

Early Life

Prasad was born in Jiradei, in the Siwan (List_of_Indian_districts#Bihar) district of Bihar. His father, Mahadev Sahay, was a Persian and Sanskrit language scholar; his mother, Kamleshwari Devi, was a devout lady who would tell stories from the Ramayana to her son. At the age of 5, the young Rajendra Prasad was sent to a Maulavi for learning Persian. After that he was sent to Chapra Zilla School for further primary studies. He was married at the age of 12 to Rajvanshi Devi. He then went on to study at R.K. Ghosh's Academy in Patna to be with his older brother Mahendra Prasad. Soon afterward, however, he rejoined the Chapra Zilla School, and it was from there that he passed the entrance examination of Calcutta University, at the age of 18. He stood first in the first division of that examination. He then joined the Presidency College, Calcutta. He was initially a student of science and his teachers included J.C.Bose and Prafulla Chandra Roy. Later he decided to switch his focus to the arts. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, who was impressed by his intellect and dedication asked him on the occasion "Why have you deserted your class?." Prasad lived with his brother in the Eden Hindu Hostel. A plaque still commemorates his stay in that room. He had been initiated into the Swadeshi movement by his brother. He then joined the Dawn Society run by Satish Chandra Mukherjee, and Sister Nivedita. In 1911, he joined the A.I.C.C. However, his family estate was in bad condition. He was looked upon as the provider. But he sought permission from his brother in a letter to join the Indian freedom movement. He wrote, "Ambitions I have none, except to be of some service to the Motherland". The shock of his brother, however, held him to the family. In 1916, Rajendra Prasad joined the High Court of Bihar, and Orissa. Such was his intellect and his integrity, that often when his adversary failed to cite a precedent, the judges asked Rajendra Prasad to cite a precedent against himself.

In the Independence Movement

After meeting Mahatma Gandhi, he quit as a Senator of the University, much to the regret of the British Vice-Chancellor.He also responded to the call by the Mahatma to boycott Western eductaion by asking his son Mrityunjaya Prasad, a brilliant student to drop out of the University and enroll himself in Bihar Vidyapeeth, an institution he had along with his colleagues founded on the traditional Indian model. He wrote articles for Searchlight and the Desh and collected funds for these papers. He toured a lot, explaining, lecturing and exhorting. When the earthquake of Bihar occurred on January 15, 1934, Rajendra Prasad was in jail. He was released two days later. He set himself for the task of raising funds. The Viceroy has also raised a fund. However, while Rajendra Prasad's fund collected over 38 Lakhs (Rs. 3,800,000), the Viceroy could only manage one-third of that amount. The way relief was organized left nothing to be desired. Nationalist India expressed its admiration by electing him to the President of the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress. After India became independent he was elected the President of India. As President, he used his moderating influence so silently and unobtrusively that he neither reigned nor ruled. His sister Bhagwati Devi died on the night of 25 January, 1960. She doted on her dearly-loved younger brother. It must have taken Rajendra Prasad all his will power to have taken the Republic Day salute as usual, on the following day. It was only on return from the parade that he set about the task of cremation. In 1962, after 12 years as President, he announced his decision to retire. He was subsequently awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest civilian award.

Passing and Legacy

Within months of his retirement, early in September 1962, his wife Rajvanshi Devi passed away. In a letter written a month before his death to one devoted to him, he said, "I have a feeling that the end is near, end of the energy to do, end of my very existence". He died on 28 February, 1963 with 'Ram Ram' on his lips. Because of the enormous public adulation he enjoyed,he was referred to as Desh Ratna or the Jewel of the country. His legacy is being ably carried forward by his great gandson Ashoka Jahnavi-Prasad, a psychiatrist and a scientist of international repute who introduced sodium valproate as a safer alternative to lithium salts in the treatment of bipolar disorders.

External links


- Mahatma Gandhi, Indian Independence Movement, Indian Nationalism
- [http://presidentofindia.nic.in/scripts/formerpresidents.jsp Former Presidents of India: Dr. Rajendra Prasad]
- [http://www.indiatogether.org/people/rajendra_prasad.htm The Life of Dr. Rajendra Prasad]
- [http://www.congresssandesh.com/AICC/history/presidents/dr_rajendra_prasad.htm Congress Party: Dr. Rajendra Prasad] Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Rajendra Prasad, Rajendra

December 3

December 3 is the 337th (in leap years the 338th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 28 days remaining.

Events


- 1805 - Lewis and Clark Expedition mark their explorations from the Missouri River overland to the Columbia River on a pine tree.
- 1818 - Illinois becomes the 21st U.S. state.
- 1828 - In the U.S. Presidential election, challenger Andrew Jackson beats incumbent John Quincy Adams and is elected President of the United States.
- 1854 - Eureka Stockade: In what is claimed by many to be the birth of Australian democracy, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Australia are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.
- 1901 - US President Theodore Roosevelt delivers a 20,000-word speech to the House of Representatives asking Congress curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits".
- 1904 - The Jovian moon Himalia is discovered by Charles Dillon Perrine at California's Lick Observatory.
- 1912 - Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month long First Balkan War.
- 1917 - After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.
- 1925 - George Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F is premiered at Carnegie Hall.
- 1929 - Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover announces to the U.S. Congress that the worst effects of the recent stock market crash are behind the nation and the American people have regained faith in the economy.
- 1936 - New York City radio station WQXR is officially founded.
- 1937 - The Dandy, the world's longest-running comic, is first published.
- 1944 - The Greek Civil War breaks out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists.
- 1947 - Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire opens on Broadway.
- 1953 - The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in Washington, DC.
- 1964 - Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest at the UC Regents' decision to forbid Vietnam War protests on UC property.
- 1967 - At Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, a transplant team headed by Christiaan Barnard carries out the first heart transplant on a human (53-year-old Louis Washkansky).
- 1967 - The luxury train 20th Century Limited completes its last run from New York City to Chicago (the train was inaugurated on June 15, 1902).
- 1970 - October Crisis: In Montreal, Quebec, kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross is released by the Front de Libération du Québec terrorist group after being held hostage for 60 days. Police negotiate his release and in return the Canadian government grants five terrorists from the FLQ's Chenier Cell their request for safe passage to Cuba.
- 1971 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: After Pakistan launches airstrikes on Indian airfields, India retaliates by invading East Pakistan.
- 1973 - Pioneer program: Pioneer 10 sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
- 1976 - Patrick Hillery becomes the sixth President of Ireland. The Sex Pistols begin their controversial UK tour, where they are banned from performing at many venues.
- 1976 - Bob and Rita Marley, as well as Wailer's manager Don Taylor, are wounded when seven gumen open fire on Marley's home in Kingston.
- 1979 - In Cincinnati, Ohio, eleven fans are killed during a stampede for seats before a Who concert at Riverfront Coliseum.
- 1982 - A soil sample is taken from Times Beach, Missouri that will be found to contain 300 times the safe level of dioxin.
- 1984 - Bhopal Disaster: A methyl isocyanate leak from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, kills more than 3,800 people outright and injures 150,000-600,000 others (some 6,000 of whom would later die from their injuries) in one of the worst industrial disasters in history.
- 1989 - Cold War: In a meeting off the coast of Malta, US President George H. W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev release statements indicating that the cold war between their nations may be coming to an end (some commentators from both nations exaggerated the wording and independently declared the Cold War over).
- 1990 - At Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 collides with Northwest Airlines Flight 299 on the runway, killing 8 passengers and 4 crew members aboard flight 1482.
- 1990 - Government of Pakistan formed National Highway Authority.
- 1992 - UN Security Council Resolution 794 is unanimously passed, approving a coalition of United Nations peacekeepers led by the United States to form UNITAF, tasked with establishing peace and ensuring that humanitarian aid is distributed in Somalia.
- 1992 - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.
- 1997 - In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty, however.
- 1999 - NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.
- 2005 - International Day of Action On Climate Change, to mark the first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Includes rallies in Australia.
- 2005 - XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery of US Mail in Mojave, California.

Births


- 1368 - King Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
- 1560 - Jan Gruter, Dutch critic (d. 1627)
- 1596 - Nicolo Amati, Italian violin maker (d. 1684)
- 1684 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (d. 1754)
- 1755 - Gilbert Stuart, American painter (d. 1828)
- 1776 - Johann Spurzheim, German neuroscientist (d. 1832)
- 1800 - France Prešeren, Slovenian poet (d. 1849)
- 1826 - George McClellan, U.S. Civil War general (d. 1885)
- 1838 - Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (d. 1916)
- 1838 - Octavia Hill, British housing and open-space activist (d. 1912)
- 1842 - Ellen Swallow Richards, American scientist (d. 1911)
- 1857 - Joseph Conrad, Polish-born British writer (d. 1924)
- 1883 - Anton Webern, Austrian composer (d. 1945)
- 1884 - Rajendra Prasad, first President of India (d. 1963)
- 1886 - Manne Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- 1895 - Anna Freud, Austrian-born British psychoanalyst (d. 1982)
- 1899 - Ikeda Hayato, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1965)
- 1900 - Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountain guide (d. 2004)
- 1900 - Richard Kuhn, Austrian biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1911 - Nino Rota, Italian composer (d. 1979)
- 1921 - Phyllis Curtin, American soprano
- 1922 - Sven Nykvist, Swedish cinematographer
- 1925 - Ferlin Husky, American singer
- 1925 - Kim Dae-jung, President of South Korea and Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 - Andy Williams, American singer
- 1930 - Jean-Luc Godard, French film director
- 1931 - Franz Josef Degenhardt, German author and singer
- 1932 - Corry Brokken, Dutch singer
- 1933 - Paul J. Crutzen, Dutch chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
- 1934 - Viktor Gorbatko, Soviet cosmonaut
- 1937 - Bobby Allison, American race car driver
- 1942 - Alice Schwarzer, German journalist
- 1946 - Joop Zoetemelk, Dutch cyclist, World Cycling Champion and Olympic gold medalist
- 1948 - Ozzy Osbourne, British singer
- 1949 - John Akii-Bua, Ugandan athlete and Olympic gold medalist (d. 1997)
- 1949 - Mickey Thomas, American singer (Jefferson Starship)
- 1951 - Rick Mears, American race car driver
- 1955 - Steven Culp, American actor
- 1960 - Daryl Hannah, American actor
- 1960 - Julianne Moore, American actor
- 1965 - Steve Harris, American actor
- 1965 - Katarina Witt, German figure skater, World Figure Skating Champion and Olympic gold medalist
- 1968 - Brendan Fraser, American actor
- 1970 - Christian Karembeu, French international footballer and World Cup winner
- 1973 - Holly Marie Combs, American actress
- 1979 - Rainbow Sun Francks, Canadian actor
- 2005 - Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, Norwegian prince

Deaths


- 1048 - Al-Biruni, mathematician
- 1154 - Pope Anastasius IV
- 1265 - Odofredus, Italian jurist
- 1533 - Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (b. 1479)
- 1610 - Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general (b. 1548)
- 1765 - Lord John Philip Sackville, British cricketer (b. 1713)
- 1789 - Claude Joseph Vernet, French painter (b. 1714)
- 1815 - John Carroll, first Roman Catholic archbishop in the U.S. (b. 1735)
- 1882 - Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1811)
- 1888 - Carl Zeiss, German lens maker (b. 1816)
- 1892 - Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (b. 1820)
- 1894 - Robert Louis Stevenson, British writer (b. 1850)
- 1902 - Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (b. 1833)
- 1912 - Prudente José de Morais Barros, President of Brazil (b. 1841)
- 1919 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French impressionist painter (b. 1841)
- 1941 - Christian Sinding, Norwegian composer (b. 1856)
- 1949 - Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-born American actress (b. 1876)
- 1972 - Bill Johnson, American musician (b. 1872)
- 1973 - Emile Christian, American musician (b. 1895)
- 1979 - Dhyan Chand, Indian hockey player and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1905)
- 1980 - Oswald Mosley, British politician (b. 1896)
- 1980 - Shirin Bai, sister of Pakistan's founder M.A.Jinnah died in Karachi
- 1996 - Georges Duby, French historian specializing in the Middle Ages (b. 1919)
- 1999 - Madeline Kahn, American actress and comedian (b. 1942)
- 1999 - Scatman John, American singer (lung cancer) (b. 1942)
- 2000 - Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (b. 1917)
- 2002 - Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (b. 1970)
- 2003 - David Hemmings, British actor (b. 1941)
- 2004 - Shiing-Shen Chern, Chinese mathematician (b. 1911)

Holidays and observances


- R.C. Saints - memorial of Saint Francis Xavier; also Saint Birinus
- USA - admission day for Illinois (21st state, 1818)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/3 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20051203.html The New York Times: On this Day] ---- December 2 - December 4 - November 3 - January 3 — listing of all days ko:12월 3일 ms:3 Disember ja:12月3日 simple:December 3 th:3 ธันวาคม

1884

1884 is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar).

Events


- January 4 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.
- January 18 - Dr William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the UK.
- February 1 - Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
- March 13 - The siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins (ends on January 26, 1885).
- April 22 - Colchester earthquake, England; the UK's most destructive.
- May 1 - the first proclamation of eight-hour workday by the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions in the United States. May 1st, called May Day or Labour Day, is now a holiday recognized in almost every industrialized country.
- July 5 - Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
- August 5 - The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.
- August 10 - A severe earthquake, magnitude 5.5, (intensity VII) occurs off the northeast Atlantic coast. The area affected extends from central Virginia to southern Maine, and west as far as Cleveland.
- October - International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. fixes the Greenwich meridian as the world's prime meridian.
- October 6 - United States Naval War College established in Newport, Rhode Island.
- October 18 - University of Wales, Bangor (UK) founded.
- October 22 - The first woman recieves a degree from an Irish university. The degree is granted by the Royal University of Ireland.
- November 1 - The Irish Gaelic Athletic Association is founded in Thurles, Ireland.
- November 2 - Timisoara is the first town of Europe with streets illuminated by electric light.
- November 4 - U.S. presidential election: Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.
- November 15 - The Berlin Conference which regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa begins (ends February 26, 1885).
- November 25 - British surgeon John Dooglee makes the first successful removal of a brain tumor.
- December 1 - American Old West - Near Frisco, New Mexico (now Reserve, New Mexico), deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting cowboy Charles McCarthy (the cowboys were terrorizing the area's Hispanos and Baca was working against them).
- December 6 - Washington Monument was completed.
- December 16 - World Cotton Centennial World's Fair opens in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Bechuanaland becomes British protectorate.
- Stefan-Boltzmann law reformulated by Ludwig Boltzmann.
- British Police officers go on armed patrol in London.
- Mark Twain writes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Environmental change


- The Water Hyacinth is introduced in the US and quickly becomes an invasive species

Births

January-March


- January 2 - Oscar Micheaux, American filmmaker and author (d. 1951)
- January 12 - Texas Guinan, American vaudeville performer (d. 1933)
- January 13 - Sophie Tucker, Russian-born singer and comedienne (d. 1966)
- January 21 - Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)
- January 23 - Ralph DePalma, Italian-born race car driver (d. 1956)
- January 28 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist, balloonist, and inventor (d. 1962)
- January 31 - Theodor Heuss, German politician and publicist (d. 1963)
- February 12 - Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1950)
- February 12 - Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (d. 1957)
- February 13 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete and inventor (d. 1961)
- February 14 - Hezekiah M. Washburn, missionary (d. 1972)
- February 16 - Robert J. Flaherty, American filmmaker (d. 1951)
- February 18 - Andrew Watson Myles, Canadian politician (d. 1970)
- February 22 - Abe Attell, American boxer (d. 1970)
- March 1 - Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician (b. 1820)
- March 13 - Sir Hugh Walpole, English novelist (d. 1941)
- March 17 - Alcide Nunez, American jazz musician (d. 1934)
- March 24 - Peter Debye, Dutch chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
- March 25 - Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (d. 1950)
- March 26 - Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist (d. 1969)

April-December


- April 4 - Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander (d. 1943)
- April 6 - Walter Huston, actor (d. 1950)
- April 12 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, Germn-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1951)
- May 1 - Henry Norwest, Canadian World War I sniper (d. 1918)
- May 8 - Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
- May 10 - Olga Petrova English-born actress (d. 1977)
- May 14 - Claudius Dornier, German aircraft designer (d. 1969)
- May 27 - Max Brod, Austrian author (d. 1968)
- May 28 - Edvard Beneš, Austrian politician (d. 1948)
- July 12 - Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
- July 23 - Emil Jannings, Swiss actor (d. 1950)
- August 23 - Will Cuppy, American humorist (d. 1949)
- August 30 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- September 17 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (d. 1920)
- October 11 - Friedrich Bergius, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
- October 11 - Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1962)
- November 19 - José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player (d. 1942)
- November 20 - Norman Thomas, American social reformer (d. 1968)
- December 30 - Tojo Hideki, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)

Exact month/day unknown


- M. Louise Gross, American politician and lobbyist (d. 1951)
- Claudius Dornier, German aeroplane builder

Deaths


- January 6 - Gregor Mendel, Austrian geneticist (b. 1822)
- January 25 - Johann Gottfried Piefke, German conductor and composer (b. 1815)
- March 21 - Ezra Abbot, American Bible scholar (b. 1819)
- April 4 - Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist (b. 1858)
- May 12 - Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer (b. 1824)
- May 13 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (b. 1809)
- June 25 - Hans Rott, Austrian composer (b. 1858)
- July 1 - Allan Pinkerton, American detective (b. 1819)
- July 10 - Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)
- November 25 - Adolph Wilhelm Hermann Kolbe, German chemist (b. 1818) Category:1884 ko:1884년 ms:1884 simple:1884 th:พ.ศ. 2427

1963

1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-February


- January 1 - CSIRO scientist Dr Gilbert Bogle and Mrs Margaret Chandler are found dead, believed to have been poisoned, in bushland near the Lane Cove River, Sydney. Known as the Bogle-Chandler case.
- January 11 - The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened.
- January 14 - George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama.
- January 22 - Elysée treaty between France and Germany
- January 28 - Black student Harvey Gantt enters Clemson College in South Carolina, the last US state to hold out against racial integration
- January 29 - Charles De Gaulle vetos United Kingdom's entry into the EEC
- February 8 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- February 11 - CIA Domestic Operations Division is created.
- February 21 - An earthquake in Libya destroys the village of Barce - 500 dead
- February 27 - Juan Bosch takes office as the 41st president of the Dominican Republic.
- February 27 - Female suffrage in Iran

March-April

Iran
- March 1 - Yoko Ono's marriage to American Christian fundamentalist filmmaker Tony Cox is annulled
- March 4 - In Paris six people are sentenced to death for conspiring to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle.
- March 16 - Mount Agung erupts on Bali - 11,000 dead
- March 18 - Court decides poor must have lawyers (Gideon vs. Wainwright Supreme Court trial)
- March 21 - Alcatraz, a federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay, closes; the last 27 prisoners are transferred elsewhere at the order of Attorney General Robert F Kennedy.
- March 27 - In Britain Dr Beeching issues report calling for huge cuts to the UK's rail network.
- April 7 - Yugoslavia is proclaimed to be a Socialist republic and Josip Broz Tito is named President for life
- April 10 - The US nuclear submarine Thresher sinks 220 miles east of Cape Cod with all hands - 129 dead
- April 15 - 70,000 marchers arrive in London from Aldermarston to demonstrate against nuclear weapons
- April 16 - Martin Luther King composes "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
- April 20 – In Quebec, Canada, members of the Quebec terrorist group, the Front de libération du Québec, bomb the Canadian Armed Forces recruitment center, killing night watchman, Wilfred V. O'Neill.
- April 22 - Lester B. Pearson becomes Canada's fourteenth prime minister.
- April 21 thru April 23 - First election of the Supreme Institution of the Bahá'í Faith, known as the Universal House of Justice whose Seat is at the Bahá'í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

May-June


- May 1: The Coca-Cola Company debuts its first diet drink, TaB cola. Instead of sugar it is sweetened with saccharin and cyclamates. Later (after cyclamates were banned) TaB became a sugar-and-saccharin soft drink. Today it uses a blend of aspartame (NutraSweet) and saccharin.
- May 2 - Berthold Seliger launches near Cuxhaven a rocket with three stages with a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- May 15 - Mercury program: NASA launches the last mission of the program, Mercury 9 (on June 12 NASA Administrator James E. Webb told Congress the program was complete)
- May 23 - Fidel Castro visits the Soviet Union
- May 25 - The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- June 1 - Kenya gains autonomy.
- June 2 - Slavery declared illegal in Saudi Arabia
- June 5 - Profumo Affair - British Secretary of State for War John Profumo resigns in a sex scandal
- June 11 – Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc publicly sets himself on fire in Saigon, Vietnam, to protest against Ngo Dinh Diem's policies
- June 11 - Prime Minister of Greece Constantine Karamanlis resigns in protest of king's visit to Britain
- June 12 - Byron de la Beckwith shoots civil rights leader Medgar Evers in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi.
- June 16 - Vostok 6: Valentina Tereshkova (USSR) becomes the first woman in space.
- June 17 - The United States Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against allowing the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
- June 21 - Pope Paul VI is elected by College of Cardinals.
- June 30 - Ciaculli Massacre - mafia car bomb explodes in Ciaculli, Sicily, killing 7 police officers

July-August


- July 1 - ZIP Codes introduced in the USA
- July 5 - Diplomatic relations between the Israeli and the Japanese governments are raised to embassies' level.
- July 5 - The Catholic Church accepts cremation as a funeral practice
- July 26 - Earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia - 1800 dead
- July 26 - Syncom, the world's first geostationary (synchronous) satellite is orbited by NASA
- July 27 – Indonesian president-for-life Sukarno declares that he will crush Malaysia – official start of Indonesian Confrontation
- July 30 - Soviet newspaper Izvestia reports that Kim Philby has been given asylum in Moscow
- August 5 - United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
- August 8 - The Great Train Robbery takes place in Buckinghamshire, England
- August 18 - American civil rights movement: James Meredith becomes the first black person to graduate from the University of Mississippi
- August 28 - Martin Luther King jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

September-October


- September 5 - Christine Keeler arrested for perjury. On December 6 she is sentenced to nine months in prison.
- September 6 - The Centre for International Industrial Property Studies (CEIPI) is founded.
- September 7 - The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.
- September 10 - Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano is indicted for murder. He goes on the run and, as of 2005, is still a fugitive.
- September 15 - American civil rights movement: The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing results in 4 deaths and 22 injuries.
- September 16 – Federation of Malaysia formed through the merging of the Federation of Malaya and the British crown colony of Singapore, North Borneo (renamed Sabah) and Sarawak.
- September 18 – Rioters burn down British embassy in Jakarta to protest formation of Malaysia
- September 23 - King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals was was established by a Saudi Royal Decree as the College of Petroleum and Minerals
- September 25 - Denning Report on Profumo affair
- September 29 - Opening of second period of Second Vatican Council in Rome.
- October 9 - Uganda becomes a republic.
- October 9 - In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.

November

Vajont Dam]]
- November 2 - South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated following a military coup
- November 6 - Vietnam War: Coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam
- November 7 - Wunder von Lengede: In Germany, 11 miners are rescued from a collapsed mine after 14 days
- November 9 - 1963 Miike coal-mine explosion: In Japan, a coal mine explosion kills 458 and sends 839 carbon monoxide poisoning victims to the hospital
- November 14 - A volcanic eruption under the sea near Iceland creates a new island, Surtsey
- November 16 - Newspaper strike begins in Toledo, Ohio
- November 18 - Dartford Tunnel opens
- November 22 - John F. Kennedy assassination: In Dallas, Texas, U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated, Texas Governor John B. Connally is seriously wounded, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn-in as the 36th President of the United States.
- November 23 - The first episode of the BBC television series Doctor Who is broadcast in the United Kingdom.
- November 24 - John F. Kennedy assassination: Alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is mortally shot by Jack Ruby in Dallas, Texas on live national television.
- November 24 - Vietnam War: Newly sworn in U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson confirms that the United States intends to continue supporting South Vietnam militarily and economically
- November 25 - John F. Kennedy assassination: The late U.S. President Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
- November 29 - John F. Kennedy assassination: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.
- November 29 - Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 831, a Douglas DC-8 carrying 118, crashes into a wooded hillside after taking-off from Dorval International Airport near Montreal, killing all 118 on board (for many years this was the worst air disaster in Canada's history).

December


- December 4 - Closing of second period of Second Vatican Council
- End of the Mercury program of United States manned spaceflight
- December 5 - The Seliger Forschungs- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH demonstrates rockets for military use to representatives of the military of non-NATO-countries near Cuxhaven. Although these rockets landed via parachute at the end of their flight and no allied laws were violated, this action led to protests by the Soviet Union.
- December 12 – Kenya becomes independent with Jomo Kenyatta as a prime minister
- December 22 - Cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives
- December 24 - Cyprus Emergency - A brief civil war in Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriots erupts
- December 31 - Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland formally dissolved

Unknown date


- David. H. Frisch and J. H. Smith prove radioactive decay of mesons is slowed by their motion. (See Einstein's special relativity and general relativity).
- Full deployment of SAGE, the semi-automated ground environment.
- TAT-3 cable goes into operation.
- Arecibo Observatory officially begins operation.
- Ostankino Tower in Moscow begins construction.
- The divorce case of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll causes scandal in the United Kingdom
- Harvey Ball invents the ubiquitous smiley
- One of the most spectacular years for vintage Port in the 20th Century.

Births

January-February


- January 1 - Laura Ingraham, American talk show host and author
- January 2 - David Cone, baseball player
- January 2 - Edgar Martinez, baseball player
- January 14 - Steven Soderbergh, American film director
- January 21 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian basketball player
- January 21 - Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player
- January 23 - Gail O'Grady, American actress
- January 24 - Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
- January 26 - José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
- January 26 - Andrew Ridgely, English musician
- January 30 - Thomas Brezina Austrian author
- February 8 - Vince Neil, American musician, Motley Crue
- February 9 - Travis Tritt, American singer
- February 11 - Diane Franklin, American actress
- February 11 - Todd Benzinger, baseball player
- February 17 - Michael Jordan, American basketball player
- February 19 - Seal, English singer
- February 20 - Charles Barkley, American basketball player
- February 21 - William Baldwin, American actor
- February 22 - Vijay Singh, Fiji golfer

March-April


- March 1 - Dan Michaels, American record producer and saxophonist (The Choir and The Swirling Eddies)
- March 4 - Jason Newsted, American bassist (Metallica)
- March 6 - D.L. Hughley, American actor and comedian
- March 10 - Neneh Cherry, Swedish musician
- March 12 - Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner
- March 14 - Bruce Reid, Australian cricketer
- March 17 - Michael Ivins, American bassist (The Flaming Lips)
- March 18 - Vanessa L. Williams, American beauty queen, actress, and singer
- March 20 - Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
- March 20 - Kathy Ireland, American model and actress
- March 21 - Ronald Koeman, Dutch football player and manager
- March 23 - Kyogoku Natsuhiko, Japanese writer
- March 27 - Quentin Tarantino, American actor, director, writer, and producer
- March 27 - Xuxa, Brazilian television personality
- April 4 - Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach
- April 4 - Graham Norton, Irish talk show host
- April 9 - Joe Scarborough, American newscaster
- April 11 - Chris Ferguson, American poker player
- April 13 - Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player
- April 17 - Joel Murray, American actor
- April 18 - Conan O'Brien, American television entertainer
- April 21 - Ken Caminiti, baseball player (d. 2004)
- April 21 - Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
- April 26 - Jet Li, Chinese martial artist and actor
- April 27 - Cali Timmins, Canadian actress
- April 30 - Michael Waltrip, American race car driver

May-August


- May 9 - Barry Douglas Lamb, English musician, author, and preacher
- May 11 - Natasha Richardson, English-born actress
- May 12 - Vanessa A. Williams, American actress
- May 16 - Mercedes Echerer, Austrian actress and politician
- May 23 - Wally Dallenbach Jr., American race car driver and announcer
- May 24 - Joe Dumars, American basketball player
- May 25 - Mike Myers, Canadian actor and comedian
- June 6 - Jason Isaacs, English actor
- June 9 - Johnny Depp, American actor
- June 13 - Bettina Bunge, German tennis player
- June 17 - Greg Kinnear, American actor
- June 18 - Bruce Smith, American football player
- June 23 - Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golfer
- June 25 - George Michael, English singer
- June 27 - Meera Syal, English comedian, writer, singer, and actress
- July 4 - Christopher George Kennedy , son of Robert F.Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy
- July 16 - Phoebe Cates, American actress
- July 24 - Karl Malone, American basketball player
- July 30 - Lisa Kudrow, American actress
- August 3 - James Hetfield, American singer (Metallica)
- August 6 - Kevin Mitnick, computer hacker
- August 9 - Whitney Houston, American singer
- August 19 - Joey Tempest, Swedish singer (Europe)
- August 19 - John Stamos, American actor
- August 22 - Tori Amos, American singer
- August 23 - Hans-Henning Fastrich, German field hockey player
- August 23 - Kenny Wallace, American race car driver
- August 24 - Hideo Kojima, Japanese video game director
- August 30 - Paul Oakenfold, British disc jockey

September-December


- September 6 - Geert Wilders, Dutch politician
- September 9 - Lauren Allen, American Porn Star,Adult Model
- September 10 - Randy Johnson, baseball player
- September 18 - Rob Brettle, English historian
- September 21 - Cecil Fielder, baseball player
- September 23 - Jackie Pearcey, English politician
- September 29 - Dave Andreychuk, Canadian hockey player
- September 29 - Les Claypool, American bassist and singer (Primus)
- October 1 - Mark McGwire, baseball player
- October 3 - Tommy Lee, American musician, Motley Crue
- October 10 - Anita Mui, Hong Kong singer (d. 2003)
- October 10 - Daniel Pearl, American journalist (d. 2002)
- October 10 - Jolanda de Rover, Dutch swimmer
- October 22 - Brian Boitano, American figure skater
- October 26 - Natalie Merchant, American singer, songwriter, and musician
- October 30 - Kristina Wagner, American actress
- October 31 - Fred McGriff, baseball player
- November 1 - Rick Allen, British musician (Def Leppard)
- November 4 - Lena Zavaroni, Scottish entertainer (d. 1999)
- November 13 - Vinny Testaverde, American football player
- November 15 - Benny Elias, Australian rugby player
- November 18 - Dante Bichette, baseball player
- November 19 - Terry Farrell, American actress
- November 19 - Jon Potter, British field hockey player
- November 21 - Nicolette Sheridan, English actress
- November 23 - Troy Hurtubise, Canadian inventor
- December 3 - Terri Schiavo, American right-to-die cause célèbre (d. 2005)
- December 14 - Cynthia Gibb, American actress
- December 16 - Benjamin Bratt, American actor
- December 18 - Brad Pitt, American actor
- December 23 - Jim Harbaugh, American football player
- December 29 - Francisco Bustamante, Filipino billiard player
- December 29 - Dave McKean, English artist and filmmaker

Unknown date


- Andrew Weatherall, English disc jockey

Deaths


- January 2 - Dick Powell, American actor (b. 1904)
- January 3 - Jack Carson, Canadian actor (b. 1910)
- January 5 - Rogers Hornsby, baseball player (b. 1896)
- January 18 - Edward Charles Titchmarsh, British mathematician (b. 1899)
- January 29 - Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874)
- January 30 - Francis Poulenc, French composer (b. 1899)
- February 11 - Sylvia Plath, American poet and novelist (suicide) (b. 1932)
- February 28 - Eppa Rixey, baseball player (b. 1891)
- March 4 - William Carlos Williams, American writer (b. 1883)
- March 5 - Patsy Cline, American singer (b. 1932)
- April 6 - Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
- April 9 - Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (b. 1891)
- May 11 - Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- May 12 - Bobby Kerr, Canadian runner (b. 1882)
- May 31 - Edith Hamilton, German-born author (b. 1867)
- June 3 - Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
- June 11 - Thich Quang Duc, Vietnamese Bhuddist monk (suicide)(b. 1897)
- June 18 - Pedro Armendariz, Mexican actor (suicide)(b. 1912)
- August 5 - Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
- August 23 - Glen Gray, American saxophonist and conductor (b. 1906)
- August 31 - Georges Braque, French painter (b. 1882)
- September 11 - Suzanne Duchamp, French painter (b. 1889)
- October 11 - Edith Piaf, French singer (b. 1915)
- October 11 - Jean Cocteau, French writer (b. 1889)
- November 2 - Ngo Dinh Diem, President of South Vietnam (b. 1901)
- November 15 - Fritz Reiner, Hungarian conductor (b. 1888)
- November 22 - Aldous Huxley, English novelist (b. 1894)
- November 22 - John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (b. 1917)
- November 22 - C.S. Lewis, Irish writer (b. 1898)
- November 24 - Lee Harvey Oswald, American assassin of John F. Kennedy (shot) (b. 1939)
- November - Luis Cernuda, Spanish writer (b. 1902)
- December 2 - Thomas Hicks, American marathon runner (b. 1875)
- December 5 - Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (b. 1905)
- December 5 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji, Hindu saint (b. 1828)
- December 28 - shaun gantz]], deemed coolest in america (b. 1895)

Prize in Physics|Physics]] - Eugene Paul Wigner, Maria Goeppert-Mayer, J. Hans D. Jensen
- Chemistry - Karl Ziegler, Giulio Natta
- Medicine - Sir John Carew Eccles, Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Andrew Fielding Huxley
- Literature - Giorgos Seferis
- Peace - International Committee of the Red Cross, League of Red Cross Societies Category:1963 ko:1963년 ms:1963 ja:1963年 simple:1963 th:พ.ศ. 2506

President of India

The President of India is the ceremonial head of state and first citizen of India and the Supreme Commander of the Indian armed forces. The current President of the Republic of India is Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam - the current President of India

Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. Dr. Kalam helped to develop India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) and made India an exclusive member of Space Club. Dr. Kalam then took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles. He was responsible for the development and operationalisation of AGNI and PRITHVI missiles. He also led the Pokhran-II nuclear tests which made India a nuclear weapon State. Dr. Kalam is one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 30 universities and institutions. He has been awarded the coveted civilian awards - Padma Bhushan (1981) and Padma Vibhushan (1990) and the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (1997). He is a recipient of several other awards and Fellow of many professional institutions. Dr. Kalam became the 11th President of India on 25 July 2002. His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.

History

India became formally independent of the United Kingdom on August 15, 1947. However, the country remained a Commonwealth Realm and continued to observe the British monarch as Head of State, with the title downgraded from Emperor of India to King of India in 1948 after independence. The monarch was still represented by a Governor-General of India appointed by the King, but now on the advice of the Prime Minister of India. This was a temporary measure, however, as the continued existence of a British King in the Indian political system was not considered appropriate for a truly sovereign nation. The first Governor-General of India, Lord Mountbatten was also the last British Viceroy before Independence. He soon handed power over to Rajagopalachari, who became the first ethnically Indian Governor-General. In the meantime, the Constituent Assembly led by B. R. Ambedkar worked on drafting independent India's Constitution. The drafting was finished on 26 November, 1949 and the Constitution was formally adopted on January 26, 1950—a date of symbolic importance as it was on January 26, 1930 that the Congress Party had first issued the call for complete independence from Britain. Until that date, a call from complete independence had never been issued, with the independence struggle simply demanding more autonomy from the British. When the constitution took effect, the Governor-General and King were replaced by an elected president with Rajendra Prasad serving as the first President of India. The move ended India's status as a Commonwealth Realm but remained in the Commonwealth of Nations. Nehru argued that a nation should be allowed to stay in the Commonwealth simply by observing the British monarch as "Head of the Commonwealth" but not necessarily Head of State. This was a ground-breaking decision that would allow for many other republics to remain in the Commonwealth in future years.

Qualifications required to become the President

A citizen of India who is of 35 years of age or above can be a candidate for the office of the President. The Presidential candidate should not hold any office of profit under the government and should be qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha. The following persons shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit and hence qualified for being a candidate of president ship - a) The President & The Vice President, b) The Governor of any state c) The Minister of the Union or of any State. In the cases of b & c or in the case of Vice President, being elected as President, he shall be deemed to have vacated that seat/office on the date on which he enters upon his office as President.

Election of the President

The President of India is elected whenever the office becomes vacant by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of the Parliament and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha) by a method of proportional representation by means of the Single Transferable Vote system by secret ballot. Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total votes cast by Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state matters; if a state has a few legislators, then each legislator has relatively more votes; if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes. The actual calculation for votes cast by a particular state is calculated by dividing the state's population by 1000, which is divided again by the number of legislators from the State voting in the electoral college. This number is the number of votes per legislator in a given state. For votes cast by those in Parliament, the total number of votes cast by all state legislators is divided by the number of members of both Houses of Parliament. This is the number of votes per member of either house of Parliament. The President is elected for a five year term. He can seek re - election for another term. The salary of the President is Rs. 50,000 per month and his emoluments cannot be reduced during his term of office.

Constitutional Role

The President's functions are to be exercised in accordance with the aid and advice of the council of ministers but powers are to be exercised by the President however the rider in favour of parliament vides Article 53 of the Constitution. The president of India swears before entering the office of the president that he shall protect, preserve and defend the Constitution (Article 60) which provides for an executive head of state who is nominal or ceremonial. The Indian Constitution must be seen as a purveyor of a system of governance where a mixture of presidential and Parliamentary Systems could be located. The powers of the office of President were originally intended to be similar to those of the British Crown, in that he would 'reign and not rule'. A remarkable feature under the Indian constitution is Article 53 whereby parliament has the authority to confer powers and functions exercised by the president to any other authority. An Indian President may be elected for any number of terms. Although the Constitution explicitly says that the president is the executive head of the state, the real executive power is exercised by the council of ministers and Prime minister at the helm of it. This is to be inferred from Article 74 of the Indian Constitution, indicating a "... council of ministers to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice". The President of India's main function is the formal summoning and swearing-in of the Prime Minister.

Powers and Functions

The President of India enjoys the following powers

Executive Powers

The Constitution vests in the President of India all the executive powers of the Central Government. He appoints the Prime Minister who enjoys the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. He also appoints the other members of the Council of Ministers and distributes portfolios to them on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers remain in power during the 'pleasure' of the President, but in the real sense it means the pleasure of the Lok Sabha. As long as the majority in the Lok Sabha supports the government, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed. The President makes important appointments. He appoints Governors of States, Chief Justice, judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, Chairman and Members of the Union Public Service Commission. He also appoints Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries. He receives the credentials of Ambassadors and High Commissioners from other countries. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces in India. He can declare war, make peace and conclude treaties with other countries.

Judicial Powers

As supreme executive head, the President of India can grant pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person. If he considers that a question of law or a matter of public importance has arisen, he can ask for the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court. He may or may not accept that opinion.

Legislative Powers

The President summons the sessions of both houses of the Parliament and prorogues them. He can even dissolve the Lok Sabha. These powers are formal and the President while using these powers must act according to the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. He inaugurates the Parliament by addressing it after the general elections and also at the beginning of the first session every year. His address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. A bill th