09 March - Mars 7 releases the descent module too early, missing Mars

 

Mars 7 (Russian: Марс-7), also known as 3MP No.51P was a Soviet spacecraft launched in 1973 to explore Mars. A 3MP bus spacecraft which comprised the final mission of the Mars programme, it consisted of a lander and a coast stage with instruments to study Mars as it flew past. Due to a malfunction, the lander failed to perform a maneuver necessary to enter the Martian atmosphere, missing the planet and remaining in heliocentric orbit along with the coast stage.

Mars 7 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24. The launch occurred at 17:00:17 UTC on 9 August 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 7 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. The spacecraft performed a course correction on 16 August 1973.

Mars 7's lander separated from the flyby bus on 9 March 1974. Initially, it failed to separate. However, it was eventually released to begin its descent. Due to a retrorocket failure, the probe missed the atmosphere of Mars, and, instead of landing, flew past along with the coast stage, with a closest approach of 1,300 km (810 mi).Known faults with the spacecraft's transistors were blamed for the failure, along with that of Mars 4

07 March - Sir Vivian Richards, West Indies cricketer birthday

 

Sir Vivian Richards, born on March 7, 1952, is a former cricketer from Antigua and Barbuda who is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He played for the West Indies cricket team during its dominant era in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Richards was known for his aggressive and powerful batting style, as well as his intimidating presence on the field. He was a key member of the West Indies team that achieved many successes, including winning two Cricket World Cups in 1975 and 1979. Richards played 121 Test matches for the West Indies, scoring 8,540 runs at an impressive average of 50.23. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), he amassed 6,721 runs in 187 matches.

One of the highlights of Richards' career was his unbeaten innings of 189 runs against England at Old Trafford in 1984. He also held the record for the fastest century in Test cricket for several years, achieving it in just 56 balls against England in 1986.

After retiring from international cricket, Vivian Richards has been involved in various roles, including coaching and commentary. His impact on the game and his legacy as one of the greatest cricketers of all time remain significant in the history of cricket.

07 March - Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone

 

The invention of the modern telephone - and who exactly got the credit - came down to the wire in early 1876. The lawyers for Alexander Graham Bell and another inventor by the name of Elisha Gray both filed patents on the morning of 14 February 1876. According to research years later, Bell was the fifth entry of the day, and Gray the 39th, thus Bell was awarded the patent.

Cue decades of controversy and much disagreement over who reached the patent office first. Some have suggested that malfeasance at the US Patent Office had resulted in Bell wrongly getting the patent first. Other conspiracies suggest that Bell stole the information from Gray's invention. No defining evidence of this has ever been uncovered.

In any case, on 7 March 1876, the US Patent Office issued Bell with the telephone patent and the rest is history. Bell became the father of the telephone, and after his patent was filed the telephone gradually became a necessity in modern life. Bell built and tested the first working phone on March 10, 1876 (using a liquid transmitter, a similar idea as proposed by Elisha Gray) speaking to his assistant, Thomas Watson, saying the words "Mr. Watson - come here - I want to see you."

Bell refused to have a telephone in his office, considering the invention a distraction from his work as a scientist.

07 March - world peace postage stamp issued in 1991

 

Whilst war is a scourge peace is a blessing to this noble sentiment, the Department of Post issuing a special commemorartive stamp on (07.March.1991) dedicated to world peace war in ultimate analysis do not produce winners. All victories are transient. Instead of solving problems, they create more. From Buddha to Gandhi India has always stood for universal brotherhood tolerance, fraternity and harmony.

07 March - The 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu

 

On 7 March 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of then East Pakistan (present day-Bangladesh), delivered his historic 7th March speech in the Racecourse Field (Now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka.

The 7 March Speech of Bangabandhu was a public speech given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Founding Father of Bangladesh on 7 March 1971 at the Ramna Race Course (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka to a gathering of over two million (2,000000) people. It was delivered during a period of escalating tensions between East Pakistan and the powerful political and military establishment of West Pakistan. In the speech, Bangabandhu informally declared independence of Bangladesh, proclaiming: "The struggle this time, is a struggle for our liberty. The struggle this time, is a struggle for our independence." He announced a civil disobedience movement in the province, calling for "every house to turn into a fortress". The speech is believed to have informally addressed the Bengali people to prepare for a war of independence amid widespread reports of armed mobilisation by West Pakistan. The Bangladesh Liberation War began 18 days later when the Pakistan Army initiated Operation Searchlight against Bengali civilians, intelligentsia, students, politicians, and armed personnel. On 30 October 2017, UNESCO added the speech to the Memory of the World Register as a documentary heritage.

07 March - Gavaskar first cricket batsman to score 10,000 Test runs

 

On 7 March 1987, Gavaskar became 1st cricket batsman to score 10,000 Test runs

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar (10 July 1949), is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented India and Bombay from 1971 to 1987. Gavaskar is acknowledged as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time.

Gavaskar was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, with a particularly high average of 65.45 against the West Indies, who possessed a four-pronged fast bowling attack, widely regarded as the most vicious in Test history. However, most of Gavaskar's centuries against West Indies were against their second string team when their four-pronged attack were not playing together, His captaincy of the Indian team, was considered as one of the first attacking ones, with Indian team winning the Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket in 1985. At the same time, there were multiple exchanges of captaincy between Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, with one coming just six months before Kapil led India to victory at the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He is also a former Sheriff of Mumbai.

Gavaskar is a recipient of the Indian sports honour of the Arjuna Award and the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.In 2012, he was awarded the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for Cricket in India

06 March - Ayn Rand passed away in 1982

 

Alice O'Connor/Ayn Rand, passed away on 6 March , 1982, known by her pen name Ayn Rand, was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays, she achieved fame with her 1943 novel, The Fountainhead. In 1957, Rand published her best-selling work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, until her death in 1982, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays.

06 March - National Dress Day

 

On National Dress Day March 6, we celebrate the most versatile and fun article of clothing there is — the dress! Fashion designer Ashley Lauren founded the day to help pay homage to dresses and the magical moments that happen when we wear them.

06 March - Ho Chi Minh with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in 1946

 

 Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement on 06 march 1946 with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union

Hồ Chí Minh (19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969),commonly known as Bác Hồ was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman. He served as Prime Minister of Vietnam from 1945 to 1955, and as President of Vietnam from 1945 until his death in 1969. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist, he was the Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Vietnam.

Hồ Chí Minh was born in Nghệ An province in the French protectorate of Annam. He led the Việt Minh independence movement from 1941 onward. Initially, it was an umbrella group for all parties fighting for Vietnam's independence, but the Communist Party gained majority support after 1945. Hồ Chí Minh led the Communist-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, defeating the French Union in 1954 at the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, ending the First Indochina War, and resulting in the division of Vietnam, with the Communists in control of North Vietnam. He was a key figure in the People's Army of Vietnam and the Việt Cộng during the Vietnam War, which lasted from 1955 to 1975. Hồ officially stepped down from power in 1965 due to health problems and died in 1969. North Vietnam was ultimately victorious against South Vietnam and its allies, and Vietnam was officially unified in 1976. Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City in his honor.

The details of Hồ Chí Minh's life before he came to power in Vietnam are uncertain. He is known to have used between Information on his birth and early life is ambiguous and subject to academic debate. At least four existing official biographies vary on names, dates, places, and other hard facts while unofficial biographies vary even more widely.

Aside from being a politician, Hồ was also a writer, a poet, and a journalist. He wrote several books, articles and poems in Chinese, Vietnamese and French.

 

06 March - Constantine II becomes the last King of Greece in 1964

 

Constantine II (2 June 1940 – 10 January 2023)was the last king of Greece, reigning from 6 March 1964 until the abolition of the Greek monarchy on 1 June 1973.

Constantine was born in Athens as the only son of Crown Prince Paul and Crown Princess Frederica of Greece. Being of Danish descent, he was also born as a prince of Denmark. As his family was forced into exile during the Second World War, he spent the first years of his childhood in Egypt and South Africa. He returned to Greece with his family in 1946 during the civil war. After Constantine's uncle King George II died in 1947, Paul became the new king and Constantine the crown prince. As a young man, Constantine was a competitive sailor and Olympian, winning a gold medal in the 1960 Rome Olympics in the Dragon class along with Odysseus Eskitzoglou and George Zaimis in the yacht Nireus. From 1964 he served on the International Olympic Committee.

Constantine acceded as king following his father's death in 1964. Later that year he married Princess Anne-Marie of Denmark, with whom he had five children. Although the accession of the young monarch was initially regarded auspiciously, his reign saw political instability that culminated in the Colonels' Coup of 21 April 1967. The coup left Constantine, as head of state, with little room to manoeuvre since he had no loyal military forces on which to rely. He thus reluctantly agreed to inaugurate the junta on the condition that it be made up largely of civilian ministers. On 13 December 1967, Constantine was forced to flee the country, following an unsuccessful countercoup against the junta.

Constantine formally remained Greece's head of state in exile, until the junta abolished the monarchy in June 1973 (a decision ratified via a referendum in July). After the restoration of democracy a year later, a second referendum was held in December 1974, which confirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic. While Constantine had contested the results of the 1973 referendum, he accepted the verdict of the 1974 vote, even though he had not been allowed to return to Greece to campaign.After living for several decades in London, Constantine moved back to Athens in 2013. He died there in 2023 following a stroke.