February 18 : Leadership is built on the foundation of trust.

On this day, 18 Feb....

3102 BC - Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga. {Kali Yuga "age of [the demon} Kali", or "age of vice" is the last of the four stages the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Sanskrit scriptures, within the present Mahayuga. The other ages are called Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, and Dvapara Yuga. Kali Yuga is associated with the apocalyptic demon Kali (who is not to be confused with the goddess Kālī) . The Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention"].

1665 - The Portuguese hand over Mumbai island to England.

1735 - 1st opera performed in America, "Flora".

1896 - A U.S. patent for a "Razor Stropping Device" was issued to a black American inventor.

1897 - Statue of Liberty design patent. A U.S. design patent was issued to sculptor Auguste Bartholdi of Paris, for a monumental statue intended to commemorate the independence of the United States, “Liberty Enlightening the World,” now known as the Statue of Liberty.

1901 - H Cecil Booth patented a dust removing suction cleaner.

1911 - The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.

1930 - The planet Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh, when comparing two photographic plates taken six days apart the previous month.

1946 - Revolt in the (Royal) Indian Navy. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay, the revolt spread and found support throughout British India, from Karachi to Calcutta and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore establishments and 20,000 sailors. Indian Naval personnel began calling themselves the "Indian National Navy" and offered left-handed salutes to British officers. Notably, the revolting ships hoisted three flags tied together – those of the Congress, Muslim League, and the Red Flag of the Communist Party of India (CPI), signifying the unity and downplaying of communal issues among the mutineers. In Madras and Poona, the British garrisons had to face some unrest also within the ranks of the Indian Army. The revolt was called off following a meeting between the President of the Naval Central Strike Committee (NCSC), M. S. Khan, and Vallab Bhai Patel of the Congress, who had been sent to Bombay to settle the crisis. Patel issued a statement calling on the strikers to end their action, which was later echoed by a statement issued in Calcutta by Mohammed Ali Jinnah on behalf of the Muslim League. Under these considerable pressures, the strikers gave way.

1951 - Nepal becomes a constitutional monarchy.

1979 - Snow falls in Sahara Desert. (Low altitude areas of the Sahara desert recorded their first snowfall in living memory).

1994 - India rejects OIC offer to mediate on Kashmir.

1994 - The medicine selfotel offering benefits for stroke victims was announced at a conference in San Diego, saying that it appeared to alleviate the brain damage that follows when a blood clot in the brain causes a stroke.

Born

1486 - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bengali saint, bhakti yoga developer.

1836 - Swami Ramakrishna (Gadadhar Chatterji). He was God-intoxicated Bengali Shakta saint, Guru of Swami Vivekananda. He exemplified the bhakti dimension of 'Shakta Universalism'.

1926 - Nalini Jaywant, actor.

1927 - Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, composer. Better known as Khayyam, he has won three Filmfare Awards for Best Music in 1977 for Kabhi Kabhie and 1982 for Umrao Jaan, and a lifetime achievement award in 2010 . He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2011.

1931 - Swraj Paul, Indian/British industrial/multi-millionaire.

1933 - Nimmi, actor.

RIP

1854 - Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Italian artist and architect known primarily for his works of art, but he also prepared extremely accurate anatomical drawings of the human body. Michelangelo also performed a number of dissections to be able to more accurately depict the physiology of saints and sinners. Thus science was advanced, but in the name of Renaissance art.

Titbits

1930 - Elm Farm Ollie (known as "Nellie Jay" and "Sky Queen") was the first cow to fly in an airplane as part of the International Air Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, US. On the same trip, which covered 72 miles, she also became the first cow milked in flight. This was done ostensibly to allow scientists to observe midair effects on animals, as well as for publicity purposes.

You may have known....

Yawns last an average of 6 seconds and on average men yawn longer than women. During that six seconds, the heart rate can increase by as much as 30 percent.