03 April - Marlon Brando Jr. born in 1924

 

Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century,he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, one Cannes Film Festival Award and three British Academy Film Awards. Brando was also an activist for many causes, notably the civil rights movement and various Native American movements. Having studied with Stella Adler in the 1940s, he is credited with being one of the first actors to bring the Stanislavski system of acting, and method acting, to mainstream audiences. 

03 April - John Harrison birth anniversary

 

 

John Harrison (03 April 1693 – 24 March 1776) was a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea.

Harrison's solution revolutionized navigation and greatly increased the safety of long-distance sea travel. The problem he solved had been considered so important following the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 that the British Parliament was offering financial rewards of up to £20,000 (equivalent to £3.35 million in 2023) under the 1714 Longitude Act,though Harrison was never fully able to receive these rewards due to political rivalries.

Harrison presented his first design in 1730, and worked over many years on improved designs, making several advances in time-keeping technology, finally turning to what were called sea watches. Harrison gained support from the Longitude Board in building and testing his designs. Toward the end of his life, he received recognition and a reward from Parliament.

03 April - Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay birth anniversary

 

 

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay ( 03 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer and freedom activist. She was most remembered for her contribution to the Indian independence movement; for being the driving force behind the renaissance of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India; and for upliftment of the socio-economic standard of Indian women by pioneering the co-operation. She is the first lady in India to stand in elections from Madras Constituency although she lost in the elections but she pioneered the path for the women in India.

Several cultural institutions in India today exist because of her vision, including the National School of Drama, Sangeet Natak Akademi, Central Cottage Industries Emporium, and the Crafts Council of India. She stressed the significant role which handicrafts and cooperative grassroot movements play in the social and economic upliftment of the Indian people. To this end she withstood great opposition both before and after independence from the power centres.

In 1974, she was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by the Sangeet Natak Academy, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama.She was conferred with Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan by Government of India in 1955 and 1987 respectively. She is known as Hatkargha Maa for her works in handloom sector. 

03 April - Shivaji Maharaj death anniversary

 

Shivaji (19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), an Indian Warrior and the scion of Bhosle Maratha clam. He is credited with the genesis of the Maratha Empire. Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire. He died on 3 April 1680.

Over the course of his life, Shivaji engaged in both alliances and hostilities with the Mughal Empire, the Sultanate of Golkonda, Sultanate of Bijapur and the European colonial powers. Shivaji's military forces expanded the Maratha sphere of influence, capturing and building forts, and forming a Maratha navy. Shivaji established a competent and progressive civil rule with well-structured administrative organisations. He revived ancient Hindu political traditions, court conventions and promoted the usage of the Marathi and Sanskrit languages, replacing Persian in court and administration.

Shivaji's legacy was to vary by observer and time, but nearly two centuries after his death, he began to take on increased importance with the emergence of the Indian independence movement, as many Indian nationalists elevated him as a proto-nationalist and hero of the Hindus.
 

02 April - Death anniversary of Ranjitsinhji

 

 

Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933),often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as Maharaja Jam Saheb, and a noted Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team.He also played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, and county cricket for Sussex.

Ranji has widely been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of his era.Neville Cardus described him as "the Midsummer night's dream of cricket". Unorthodox in technique and with fast reactions, he brought a new style to batting and revolutionised the game.Previously, batsmen had generally pushed forward; Ranji took advantage of the improving quality of pitches in his era and played more on the back foot, both in defence and attack. He is particularly associated with one shot, the leg glance, which he invented or popularised. The first-class cricket tournament in India, the Ranji Trophy, was named in his honour and inaugurated in 1935 by the Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. His nephew Duleepsinhji followed Ranji's path as a batsman playing first-class cricket in England and for the England cricket team.

Away from cricket, Ranji became Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar in 1907. He was later Chancellor of the Indian Chamber of Princes, and represented India at the League of Nations.

Ranjitsinhji died of heart failure on 2 April 1933 after a short illness.

02 April - International Children’s Book Day

 

International Children’s Book Day is celebrated on April 2 annually. For centuries the importance of reading has been taught in schools. Still, International Children’s Book Day brings awareness to reading and how essential it is in molding the young minds of the future. Books provide kids with a sense of escapism from their mundane realities or their difficult circumstances and allow them to discover stories on their own terms in a language they understand. Next time you don’t know what to get your little niece or nephew, buy them a book that meant something to you when you were growing up, and share the adventure.

One of the greatest joys in life is gifting a child a book and watching them discover the magical world of reading. This is something that has been celebrated through International Children’s Book Day since April 2, 1967, which is also known as the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author famous for his fairy tales that include “The Ugly Duckling,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Thumbelina.”

The sponsor country for International Children’s Book Day 2023 is Latvia, and the well-known Latvian author and poet Inese Zandere has been chosen to write the message to the children.

The theme of this year’s event is ‘the small is big in a book’.

02 April - World Autism Awareness Day

 

World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on April 2, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/62/139). passed in council on November 1, 2007, and adopted on December 18, 2007. It was proposed by Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, the United Nations Representative from Qatar and consort to Emir Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and supported by all member states.

This resolution was passed and adopted without a vote in the UN General Assembly, mainly as a supplement to previous UN initiatives to improve human rights.

World Autism Day is one of only seven official health-specific UN Days.

The terms "Autism Awareness Day" and "Autism Awareness Month" are often contested by autism rights advocates, who claim that they feed into perceived ableism against autistic people. Such groups, including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, advocate using the term "Autism Acceptance day" as an alternative for both events under the belief that it promotes overcoming anti-autism prejudice rather than simply increasing awareness of autism 

The observance of World Autism Awareness Day helps to promote greater understanding and acceptance of autism, reduce stigma, and advocate for the rights and well-being of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

02 April - Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan born in 1902

 

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 25 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala Gharana. At the age of five, Bade Ghulam began training in vocal music from his paternal uncle Kale Khan, and later from his father. He had three younger brothers namely Barkat Ali Khan, Mubarak Ali Khan and Amanat Ali Khan. He was born on 2 April 1902 in Punjab, British India.

01 April - April Fool's Day

 

April Fool's Day is celebrated on 1 April in many countries around the world. On this day, people traditionally play practical jokes on each other and have fun trying to make other people believe things that are not true.

Some interesting things on the stamp 

One of the key traits used to describe Britons around the world is our sense of the ridiculous, with the British sense of humour recognised as being particularly distinctive.

In this special issue dedicated to comedy greats, Royal Mail takes a trip into Britain’s comedy past with a look at the story behind ten of the country’s best loved humorous acts.

The timing of Comedy Greats (with its release on April Fool’s Day) is particularly apt, as this year marks the centenary of the birth of Norman Wisdom and the fiftieth anniversary of the first broadcast of Not Only… But Also starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.

Each of the stamps features the comedian, or comedy pair, in a close up photograph, with an extra photo of the featured person taken during one of their performances.

The performance photos show the comedic greats in trademark poses, from Morecambe and Wise performing one of their humorous ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ dance, to Victoria Wood seated at a piano during a comedy song routine.

Stamp Issue date: 1 April, 2015.

01 April - Postage stamp issued on Potato Research in India

 

A commemorative postage stamp issued on 01 April 1985 on the 50th. Anniversary of the Potato Research in India : Association for Potato Research is a quarterly peer - reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the production and use of potato.It was established in 1958.The potato is a root vegetable native to the Americas , a starchy tuber of the plant solanum tuberosum, and the itself is perennial in the nightshade family ,Solanaceae .wild potato species, originating in modern - day Peru , can be found throughout the Americas, from Canada to southern Chile