May 19: Before standing firm make sure your feet are in the right place.

On this day, 19 May...

1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.

1848 - 1st department store opens. (A department store or magazine is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different product categories known as "departments").

1885 - 1st mass production of shoes (Jan Matzeliger in Massachusetts).

1906 - The Simplon Tunnel was officially opened as the world's longest railroad tunnel. Cutting through the Alps between Italy and Switzerland,  the 12-mile Simplon Tunnel, one of the world's longest rail tunnels shortened the surface distance for an important European trade route between Brig, Switzerland and Iselle, Italy. (As of 2016, the Gotthard tunnel is the longest railway tunnel).

1956 - The Indian govt bans six US and two British films for presenting a 'disparaging' impression of life in Africa, including 'African Queen' and 'Mogambo'.

1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.

1971 - Indian Navy's first submarine station started at 'Veer Bahu' in Visakhapatnam.

1987 - A patent for "keeping ahead alive" was issued to Chet Fleming. A cabinet provides physical and biochemical support for an animal's head severed from its body. Oxygenated blood and nutrients are circulated by means of tubes connected to arteries and veins that emerge from the neck. A series of processing components removes carbon dioxide and add oxygen to the blood. If desired, waste products and other metabolites may be removed from the blood, and nutrients, therapeutic or experimental drugs, anticoagulants, and other substances may be added to the blood. After being thoroughly tested on research animals, the patent suggests it might also be used on humans suffering from various terminal illnesses.

1993 - Government decides to merge Vayudut with Indian Airlines.

2000 - A `civil coup' in Fiji ousts the first ethnic Indian Prime Minister Mahendra Pal Choudhary. President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara proclaims a state of emergency.

Born

1910 – Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi.

1913 - Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, President of India.

1934 - Ruskin Bond, writer.

1938 – Girish Karnad, actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright.

RIP

1904 - Jamshedji Nasarvanji Tata, famous industrialist and father of modern technology. He commenced cotton mills in Bombay and Nagpur and founded the Tata Iron and Steel Company, which is one of the largest integrated steel mills in the world.

1935 - Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was a British archaeological scholar, also known as “Lawrence of Arabia”. He became best known as a military strategist, and author for his legendary war activities in the Middle East during WW I, and for his account of those activities in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926). He died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash near his home in Dorset.

1980 - General T. N. Raina, former Chief of Indian Army.

2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, playwright, and screenwriter.

You may have known...

Technically time passes faster at your face than your feet.