30 March - Ether was first used as an anesthetic in 1842

 

Ether, known as "sweet vitriol" until 1730, was discovered in 1275 by a Spanish chemist named Raymundus Lullius. While ethyl ether was first created in a laboratory in 1540 by a German scientist named Valerius Cordus, it wasn't until 1841 that the anesthetic property of ether was put to work. After witnessing "ether frolics", public gatherings of those who would take ether for amusement, and noting the lack of pain felt by those getting injured at these events, Dr. Crawford W. Long returned from schooling in Pennsylvania to his hometown of Jefferson, Georgia. While it is believed Dr. Long used ether for minor operations in 1841, the first recorded use of ether as an anesthetic occurred on March 30, 1842, when Long used applied it in the removal of two tumors from the neck of James M. Venable. Venable felt no pain from the procedure and paid two dollars for the tumor extraction.

Four years later, on September 30, 1846, Dr. William Morton, a former dental partner of Dr. Horace Wells, who had advocated the use of nitrous oxide as an anesthetic, administered ether to remove a tooth of a patient in Boston. In October of the same year, Morton gave a public demonstration of ether's anesthetic property at Massachusetts General Hospital. With the procedure occurring with great success, Morton was later wrongly credited as the discoverer of ether's surgical use. The year following the successful demonstration, Sir James Young Simpson, a future pioneer in anesthesiology, introduced ether for use as an anesthetic for childbirth. Ether wouldn't suit him for such purposes for very long.

30 March - Rajasthan Statehood Day

 

March 30 is observed as Rajasthan Diwas or Rajasthan Statehood Day as the state was formed on on this day in 1949 when Rajputana was merged into the Dominion of India. Jaipur was declared the capital of the state as it was the largest city.

Britishers gave the name Rajputana. After the unification of different princely states, Rajasthan was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on April 18, 1948.

Modern Rajasthan includes most of Rajputana, which comprises the erstwhile nineteen princely states, two chiefships, and the British district of Ajmer-Merwara. Jaisalmer, Marwar (Jodhpur), Bikaner, Mewar (Chittorgarh), Alwar, and Dhundhar (Jaipur) were some of the main Rajput princely states.

29 March - International Mermaid Day

 

International Mermaid Day is observed every year on March 29. It’s for lovers of the fabled creature that’s appeared in literature, mythology, music, films, and pop culture for a long time. It’s the day to let one’s imagination run wild and indulge one’s fascination with this aquatic creature. Is it true that they exist, or is it a work of fiction? Whatever the solution, the ocean’s depths are filled with inexhaustible mysteries — it is simply the big unknown. It’s now time to learn about their ancient origins, history, and cultural significance around the world.

29 March - Jal Manekji Cooper birth anniversary

 

Jal Manekji Cooper (29 March 1905 – 02 August 1972) in Mumbai, was an Indian philatelist, and an expert and authenticator of the postage stamps and postal history of India. Cooper was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the author of several philatelic handbooks. He was both a stamp dealer and a collector and was associated with philatelists like C. D. Desai,N. D. Cooper, and Robson Lowe.

Cooper is occasionally but erroneously credited with having discovered the Inverted Head 4 Annas. The 1891 reprints show that this error was already known. E. A. Smythies said the error was first discovered at a meeting of the Philatelic Society of London in 1874.

The Jal Cooper Philatelic Society, in Varanasi, India, is named after him and India Post issued a 10 rupees commemorative stamp in 1997 depicting Cooper and Indian postmarks, on the occasion of INDEPEX 97

29 March - William Blount born in 1749

 William Blount (March 29, 1749 – March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer, and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and led the efforts for North Carolina to ratify the Constitution in 1789 at the Fayetteville Convention. He then served as the only governor of the Southwest Territory and played a leading role in helping the territory gain admission to the union as the state of Tennessee. He was selected as one of Tennessee's initial United States Senators in 1796, serving until he was expelled for treason in 1797.

29 March - Laxman Naik death anniversary

 

Laxman Naik (22 November 1899 – 29 March 1943) was a tribal civil rights activist of South Odisha in eastern India. Nayak, an Odia folk-hero of Koraput of the southernmost part of Odisha and a cult-figure among its tribals. He was implicated in a case of murder and the death sentence was pronounced on him on 13 November 1942. He was hanged on 29 March 1943 in Berhampur Jail.

29 March - Gustav III assassination in 1792

Gustav III (24 January 1746 – 29 March 1792),note on dates also called Gustavus III, was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.

When Frederick of Hessen died in 1751, he was succeeded by Adolf Frederick, who ruled until his death in 1771. While visiting Paris, Gustav III (ruled 1771–92) acceded to the throne. Before returning, he concluded another treaty with France. In 1772 he used the royal guard and officers of the Finnish army to seize control of the government from the parliament in a bloodless coup d’état. Gustav tried to exploit the Vasa and Carolingian traditions of personal royal power. He could rely on no class of the Swedish society nor on the political institutions of the 18th century, so he had to make the most of royal propaganda to the public. In this he was not without success; the traditional picture of Gustav is that of “King Charming,” the promoter of the arts and sciences.
 

28 March - Battle of Delhi -The Marathas Bajirao Peshwa defeated the Mughals

 

Bajirao I (18 August 1700 – 28 April 1740), born as Visaji, was the 7th Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy. During his 20-year tenure as a Peshwa, he defeated Nizam-ul-Mulk at several battles like the Battle of Palkhed and Battle of Bhopal. Bajirao contributed to Maratha supremacy in southern India and northern India. Thus, he was partly responsible for establishing Maratha power in Gujarat, Malwa, Rajputana and Bundelkhand and liberating Konkan (in the western coast of India) from the Siddis of Janjira and Portuguese rule.

Battle of Delhi: The Peshwa began to march on the Mughal capital, Delhi, from Pune on 12 November 1736 with a force of 50,000 cavalry troops.Learning of the advancing Maratha army, the Mughal emperor asked Saadat Ali Khan I to march from Agra and check the advance. The Maratha chiefs Malhar Rao Holkar, Vithoji Bule and Pilaji Jadhav crossed Yamuna and plundered the Mughal territories in the Doab. Saadat Khan led a force of 150,000, defeated them, and retired to Mathura. Malhar Rao Holkar rejoined Baji Rao's army near Gwalior. Samsam-ud-Daulah, Mir Bakshi and Muhammad Khan Bangash invited Saadat Ali Khan to a banquet in Samsam-ud-Daulah's tent in Mathura, thinking that the Marathas had retreated to the Deccan. During the feast, they learnt that Baji Rao had slipped along the Jat and Mewati hill route (avoiding the direct Agra-Delhi route) and was at Delhi. The Mughal commanders left the feast and began a hasty return to capital.The Mughal emperor dispatched a force, led by Mir Hasan Khan Koka, to check Baji Rao's advance. The Marathas defeated his force in the 28 March 1737 Battle of Delhi. Baji Rao then retreated from the capital, concerned about the approach of a larger Mughal force from Mathura.

Baji Rao's dash on Delhi was executed with such daring and audacity that neither the Mughal generals nor the Mughal intelligence could comprehend or predict his moves.

28 March - Mario Vargas Llosa born in 1936

 

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa , is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. In 2010 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat."He also won the 1967 Rómulo Gallegos Prize, the 1986 Prince of Asturias Award, the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1995 Jerusalem Prize, the 2012 Carlos Fuentes International Prize, and the 2018 Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit.

 

28 March - Frank Anthony issued a commemorative stamp in 2003

 

Frank Anthony (25 September 1908 – 3 December 1993) was a leader of the Anglo-Indian community in India, and was until his death their nominated representative in the Parliament of India except 6th and 9th Lok Sabha. He served as the president of the All India Anglo-Indian Association.

He was also the founder of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) which operates the ICSE board of Education in India.

The Department of Post issued a commemorative stamp on Frank Anthony on 28 March 2003