Local
2021: An urban recreational park Neem Banani is inaugurated near the Owl Junction in New Town on June 16. While the space grows several kinds of plants and has an amphitheatre, lake, outdoor gym and rock garden, it gets its name from the scores of neem trees planted there.
National
1631: Mumtaz Mahal dies on June 17, at the age of 37, while giving birth to her 14th child. Mumtaz was the consort of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, and upon her death he commissions a tomb in honour of his favourite wife. The tomb, the Taj Mahal, becomes a symbol of love and icon of beauty. It would later be the most famous monument of India and a Wonder of the World.
1904: Astronomer and mathematician Pathani Samanta dies on June 11. The Odisha-born scholar is best remembered for having measured the distance from the earth to the sun with a bamboo pipe and traditional instruments. He also had his own version of the sundial and was the first Indian astronomer to discover the irregularities of the moon independent of European astronomers.
1995: Father of the Library Movement in Kerala, P.N. Panicker, dies at the age of 86. Panicker initiated the Kerala Grandhasala (library in Malayalam) Sangham that led to universal literacy in the state in the1990s. His death anniversary on June 19 is now observed as National Reading Day in India.
Global
1657: English physician William Harvey dies on June 3. Harvey is best remembered for his contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first to document, in detail, the systemic circulation and the role of the heart in pumping blood to the brain and the rest of the body. Although some earlier writers had laid the groundwork for this theory, Harvey’s work is more comprehensive and influential.
1945: The United Nations Charter is signed on June 26. This document is the foundational treaty of the inter-governmental organisation and lays down its purposes, structure and framework. It mandates member states to maintain peace and security, uphold international law, respect human rights and address other global issues. It is signed in San Francisco by 50 nations.
1953: Benazir Bhutto is born on June 21. Daughter of Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto, Benazir herself grows up to become the first woman Prime Minister of her country, serving two terms in the 1980s and 90s. She remains a controversial figure, facing charges of corruption, but is remembered for championing women's rights. She is assassinated in 2007.
Sports & entertainment
1856: Francis James Barraud is born on June 16. The English painter is the creator of one of the world’s most famous commercial logos. Named His Master's Voice, it shows a dog listening to a gramophone and tilting his head. The image helps popularise the sound recording industry, then in its nascent stage. It is picked up by several corporations including HMV and EMI. Barraud goes on to produce two dozen copies of this painting, bringing him global fame.
1916: Author Pydimarri Venkata Subba Rao is born on June 10 in what later becomes Telengana. He masters Telegu, English, Sanskrit and Arabic and is best remembered for writing the National Pledge of India. The pledge, that begins with “India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters,”is often recited in unison at public events, especially in schools.
2021: Boxer Dingko Singh succumbs to Covid-19 on June 10. The 42-year-old had been battling liver cancer as well as post Covid-19 complications. The Manipuri boxer had won gold at the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok and was later awarded the Arjuna Award and Padma Shri.
