March 22 : We become what we think about.

On this day, 22 Mar...

1739 - Nadir Shah entered Delhi. He gave the signal to one of his soldiers from Sunheri mosque.

1793 - Lord Cornwallis promulgated permanent settlement in Bengal and Bihar to fix the revenue amounts once and for all to be paid by the zamindars every year.

1857 - The first department store elevator for passengers was installed at E.V. Haughwout & Co. in New York City.

1895 - The first motion picture shown on a screen was presented by Auguste and Louis Lumière. An invited audience at 44 Rue de Rennes in Paris, France, viewed the film La Sortie des ouvriers de l'usine Lumière.

1907 - The first internal combustion-powered cabs in London with taximeters began operating. The taximeter gave the cab its modern name. Its purpose was to indicate to both driver and passenger the distance traveled and so avoid arguments about payment due. The word derives from French taxe = price and Greek metron = measure. (The taximeter was invented by Wilhelm Bruhn in 1891).

1907 - Perturbed by a new law restricting Asiatic immigrants, Mohandas Gandhi, a young Indian attorney now living in South Africa, organized a campaign of civil disobedience to resist the statute. The Asiatic Registration Bill was considered by Gandhi unjust and discriminatory to the large Chinese and Indian populations.

1932 - Indian Muslims break with Great Britain.

1942 - Both Congress and Muslim League refused Cripps Mission offer. Congress adopts Quit India Resolution. Cripps Commission came to India which was preceded by Sir Stephard Crips to find out a political formula for transfer of power to Indians.

1946 - The first rocket built in the United States left the Earth's atmosphere, whereas Germany had launched a rocket the year before. The U.S. rocket was launched from White Sands, New Mexico, and attained an altitude of 50 miles.

1957 - National Calendar based on Saka Samvat was adopted by India. As per this calendar, the date of adoption was "Chaitra first, 1879 Saka along with Gregorian.

1960 - The first laser was patented by Arthur Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes under the title “Masers and Maser Communications System.”

1977 Indira Gandhi-led Indian National Congress party lost the 6th general election of India. She resigned as Prime Minister of India.

1985 -The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted and opened for signature. It entered into force on 22 Sep 1988.

RIP

1964 - 200 die in communal violence in the industrial towns of Jamshedpur and Rourkela.

2005 – Gemini Ganesan, actor. (Ramaswamy Ganesan, was known as the “King of Romance”, for his good-looking charm and on and off-screen romances. One of his daughters is the Bollywood star, Rekha).

Titbits

1903 - Niagara Falls runs out of water because of a drought.

1941 - Jimmy Stewart is inducted into the Army, becoming the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II.

You may have known...

An average Indian citizen's daily water requirement is 135 liters.