June 12: Great leaders inspire. They maintain a hopeful attitude, even in the face of discouraging setbacks, constant criticism and abundant opposition.

On this day, 12 Jun...

1837 - British inventors William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone received a patent for their electromagnetic telegraph. Their invention was put into public service in 1839, five years before the more famous Morse telegraph.

1849 - The forerunner of modern gas masks is patented by Lewis Phectic Haslett of Louisville.  His "inhaler or lung protector" design used woolen fabric (or other porous material) to filter dust and other material from the air.

1897 -  The Swiss Army Knife was patented by Carl Elsener. 

1897 - Possibly most severe quake in history strikes Assam India, shock waves felt over an area size of Europe (low mortality rate is given the size of the earthquake, 1500 casualties).

1906 - Sound movies were patented by John Ballance.

1913 - The first animated cartoon made in the U.S. by modern techniques was released. John Randolph Bray invented and patented the process, producing a movie called The Artist's Dream in which a dog eats sausages until it explodes.

1964 -- Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison in South Africa.

1952 - J&K Assembly decided to terminate hereditary monarchy.

1965 -  Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe is supported by the announcement of the discovery of new celestial bodies know as blue galaxies.

1979 - The Gossamer Albatross flew across the English Channel, an airplane powered solely by human power.  

1990 - Indian National Satellite (INSAT-1D) launched. This is an operational multi-purpose communication and meteorology satellite. Launched by US Delta launch vehicle, Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA, It is still in service.

2014 - Tesla Motors announces that it will make hundreds of patents for its Model S electric cars open source; the company's founder, Elon Musk, seeks to encourage the development of the electric car market.

Born

1932 – E Sreedharan, engineer. Known as the "Metro Man", he is credited for changing the face of public transport in India with his leadership in building the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro. 

1932 – Padmini, actor and a Bharatanatyam dancer.  Along with sisters, Ragini and Lalitha, the trio was together called the Travancore Sisters. Later, in 1977 she opened a school for classical dance in New Jersey in the basement of her house. Soon it spread, with five centers in New Jersey and New York. The Padmini School of Fine Arts was among the first major Indian classical dance schools in the United States.

RIP

1761 - Balaji Bajirao (Nanasaheb), third Peshwa, died after losing in the battle of Panipat. (12 or 23 June?).

1997 - Mihir Sen, long-distance swimmer.

2003 - Gregory Peck, American actor 

Titbits

1935 - Senator Huey Long of Louisiana spoke continually for 15½ hours in Senate's longest speech on record (150,000 words). 

You may have known...

The Statue of Liberty was originally intended to go to Egypt.