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Regular-article-logo Thursday, 25 April 2024

This month, that year

Here’s a look back at some events that made news around the world and in our own backyard in April

The Telegraph Published 23.04.20, 12:07 PM
New Town's nine-hole golf course near Eco Park’s gate 6

New Town's nine-hole golf course near Eco Park’s gate 6 YouTube/Blackboard

Local

2019: New Town gets a nine-hole golf course near Eco Park’s gate 6. The park had had a driving range since 2017, with 12 bays, but now experts, beginners and children can all book time and play at the course.

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Kadambari Devi

Kadambari Devi Sourced by the Telegraph

National

1884: Kadambari Devi, the wife of Jyotirindranath Tagore and sister-in-law of Rabindranath Tagore commits suicide on April 21. The family maintains silence but rumours surrounding her death continue for generations. Rabindranath, who was close to her, is highly disturbed and goes on to pen many songs and poems in her memory.

1920: Genius mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan dies on April 26 at the age of 32. Though deprived of much formal training in maths, he made major contributions to the subject including solving problems thus far considered unsolvable. While experts in India failed to recognise his talent, Ramanujan found success in England, partnering with mathematician G. H. Hardy.

2011: A helicopter carrying the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu disappears on April 30. Khandu and four others were travelling from Tawang to Itanagar. After intensive searches in a forested area, remains of the crashed copter are found on May 4.

Vladimir Ulyanov

Vladimir Ulyanov Wikipedia

Global

1791: American painter Samuel Morse is born on April 27. Years later when he is away from home for a painting, he gets a letter announcing the demise of his wife several days ago. Doubly upset at the delay in communication, he goes on to invent the single-wire telegraph system and a system of dots and dashes that he calls Morse code to transmit messages instantly.

1870: Vladimir Ulyanov is born in Russia on April 22. Later known as Lenin, he serves as the head of Soviet Russia and later Soviet Union until his death in 1924. One of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Lenin supporters remember him as a champion of socialism while critics stress on his authoritarian regime, political repression and mass killings.

2009: A new strain of the H1N1 virus is first described in April as “swine flu”. Early cases in Mexico had begun in January and lasted till August the next year, but by June 2009, the World Health Organisation had labelled it a pandemic. A vaccine is created in end-2009 but the virus still causes over 2,00,000 deaths.

The opening ceremony in the Panathenaic Stadium in 1896

The opening ceremony in the Panathenaic Stadium in 1896 Wikipedia

Sports & entertainment

1896: The first modern Olympic Games is held in Athens. Inspired by the ancient Greek games held from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD, French historian Baron Pierre de Coubertin had founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 and the games bring together 14 nations and 241 athletes who compete in 43 events.

1966: Mihir Sen becomes the first Indian to swim across the Palk Straits on April 5 and 6. After this 25-hour 36-minute feat from Ceylon to Tamil Nadu, Sen goes on to become the only man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year and earns mention in the The Guinness Book of Records.

2012: World Art Day is celebrated for the first time on April 15. The date is chosen in honour of painter Leonardo da Vinci, whose birth anniversary it is. The day is the result of a proposal put forth at the International Association of Art. On the day, exhibitions are held around the world with paintings, sculptures, prints and videos on display.

2019: New Town gets a nine-hole golf course near Eco Park’s gate 6. The park had had a driving range since 2017, with 12 bays, but now experts, beginners and children can all book time and play at the course.

What is your most treasured personal memory of April?

Write to The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abpmail.com

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