24 March - Joseph Priestley born in 1733

 

Joseph Priestley (24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist.He published over 150 works, and conducted experiments in electricity and other areas of science. He was a close friend of, and worked in close association with Benjamin Franklin involving electricity experiments.

Priestley is credited with his independent discovery of oxygen by the thermal decomposition of mercuric oxide,having isolated it in 1774.[9] During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of carbonated water, his writings on electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famousbeing what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). Priestley's determination to defend phlogiston theory and to reject what would become the chemical revolution eventually left him isolated within the scientific community.

24 March - T.M.Soundararajan birth annivesary

 

Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan(24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films,including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs.He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.

In a career spanning over six and half decades, he rode like a colossus and dominated Tamil music for decades. Besides primarily Tamil, he also sang in other languages including Sourashtra, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, and Malayalam. He was a lyricist and music composer for many devotional songs. He was the music director for the film Bala Parikshai. His peak period as a male playback singer in the South Indian film industry was from 1955 to 1985. His first film song was in 1946, at the age of 24, and his last was with P. Susheela during 2010 at the age of 88. TMS died on 25 May 2013 at his residence in Mandaveli, Chennai due to illness. He was 90 years old.

24 March - Muthuswami Dikshitar born in 1776

 

Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar,was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical trinity of Carnatic music. Muthuswami Dikshitar was born on 24 March 1775 in Tiruvarur near Thanjavur, in what is now the state of Tamil Nadu in India, to a family that is traditionally traced back to Virinichipuram in the northern boundaries of the state.His compositions, of which around 500 are commonly known, are noted for their elaborate and poetic descriptions of Hindu gods and temples and for capturing the essence of the raga forms through the vainika (veena) style that emphasises gamakas. They are typically in a slower speed (chowka kala). He is also known by his signature name of Guruguha which is also his mudra (and can be found in each of his songs). His compositions are widely sung and played in classical concerts of Carnatic music.

24 March - World Tuberculosis Day

 

Each year, we recognize World TB Day on March 24. This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis (TB).

 It's a day dedicated to raising awareness about tuberculosis (TB), a contagious bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. The day aims to highlight the global efforts to eliminate TB and to increase public understanding of the devastating health, social, and economic consequences of the disease.

23 March - World Meteorological Day

 

World Meteorological Day was established in 1961 to commemorate the World Meteorological Organization creation on 23 March 1950. This organization announces a slogan for World Meteorology Day every year, and this day is celebrated in all member countries.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), an organization of the United Nations, was created on 23 March 1950 to replace the International Meteorological Organization. It began operations in 1951 to coordinate member nation in the fields of meteorology, operational hydrology, and Earth sciences for the security of their population. The first World Meteorological Day was held on 23 March 1961.

The 2024 theme is At the Frontline of Climate Action

23 March - Shivaram Hari Rajguru death anniversary

 

24 August is the birth anniversary of the great revolutionary Shivaram Hari Rajguru who was an accomplice of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. He died for the country at an age when most youths dream of careers.

Shivaram Hari Rajguru (24 August 1908 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian revolutionary from Maharashtra, known mainly for his involvement in the assassination of a British Raj police officer. He also fought for the independence of India and On 23 March 1931 he was hanged by the British government along with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar.

23 March - Ram Manohar Lohia born 1910

 

Ram Manohar Lohia (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader.During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast secretly from various places in Bombay until 1942.

23 March - Goldfinger Novel published

 

Goldfinger is the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Written in January and February 1958, it was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 23 March 1959. The story centres on the investigation by the British Secret Service operative James Bond into the gold smuggling activities of Auric Goldfinger, who is also suspected by MI6 of being connected to SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation. As well as establishing the background to the smuggling operation, Bond uncovers a much larger plot: Goldfinger plans to steal the gold reserves of the United States from Fort Knox.

Fleming developed the James Bond character in Goldfinger, presenting him as a more complex individual than in the previous novels, and bringing out a theme of Bond as a St George figure. This theme is echoed by the fact that it is a British agent sorting out an American problem. In common with his other Bond stories, Fleming used the names of people he knew, or knew of, throughout his story, including the book's eponymous villain, who was named after the architect Ernő Goldfinger. On learning of the use of his name, Goldfinger threatened to sue, before the matter was settled out of court. Auric Goldfinger is obsessed by gold and—to Bond's eye—a gauche individual with unusual appetites; Fleming probably based the character on the American gold tycoon Charles W. Engelhard Jr. Fleming also used his own experiences within the book; the round of golf played with Goldfinger was based on a 1957 tournament at the Berkshire Golf Club in which Fleming partnered Peter Thomson, the winner of The Open Championship.

On its release, Goldfinger went to the top of the best-seller lists; the novel was broadly well received by the critics and was favourably compared to the works of the thriller writers H. C. McNeile and John Buchan. Goldfinger was serialised as a daily story and as a comic strip in the Daily Express, before it became the third James Bond feature film of the Eon Productions series, released in 1964 and starring Sean Connery as Bond. In 2010 Goldfinger was adapted for BBC Radio with Toby Stephens as Bond and Sir Ian McKellen as Goldfinger.

22 March - World Water Day

 

World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.The theme of each year focuses on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which is in line with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6.The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) is released each year around World Water Day.

World Water Day is an international observance day. The intention is to inspire people around the world to learn more about water-related issues and to take action to make a difference.In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an additional focus on hand washing and hygiene.

This day was first formally proposed in Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. In December 1992, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water.

22 March - Ramasamy Ganesan death anniversary

 

Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005),better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films.Ganesan was one of the "three biggest names of Tamil cinema", the other two being M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan. While Sivaji Ganesan excelled in dramatic films and M. G. Ramachandran was popular as an action hero, Gemini Ganesan was known for his romantic films. A recipient of the Padma Shri in 1971, he had also won several other awards including the Kalaimamani, the MGR Gold Medal, and the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award. He was one of the few college graduates to enter the film industry then.

After a prolonged illness due to kidney failure and multiple organ failure, Gemini Ganesan died surrounded by Bobji and their daughters at his residence on 22 March 2005, 13:30 IST.