On This Day November 12th

 OTD

November 12th is the 314th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 49 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1439 – Plymouth becomes the first town incorporated by the English Parliament.

1892 – Pudge Heffelfinger becomes the first professional American football player on record, participating in his first paid game for the Allegheny Athletic Association.

1912 – The frozen bodies of Robert Scott and his men are found on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

1927 – Leon Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving Joseph Stalin in undisputed control of the Soviet Union.

1941 – World War II: Temperatures around Moscow drop to −12 °C (10 °F) as the Soviet Union launches ski troops against the freezing German forces near the city for the first time.

1954 – Ellis Island ceases operations.

1970 – The Oregon Highway Division attempts to destroy a rotting beached sperm whale with explosives, leading to the now infamous "exploding whale" incident.

1980 – The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn and takes the first images of its rings.

2003 – Shanghai Transrapid sets a new world speed record of 501 kilometers per hour (311 mph) for commercial railway systems, which remains the fastest for unmodified commercial rail vehicles.

 

 

Birthdays

1528 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (d. 1588)

1606 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (d. 1673)

1729 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1811)

1774 – Charles Bell, Scottish surgeon and artist (d. 1842)

1815 – Elizabeth Cady Stanton, American activist (d. 1902)

1840 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor and illustrator, created The Thinker (d. 1917)

1924 – Sam Jones, American bassist, cellist, and composer (d. 1981)

1929 – Grace Kelly, American actress, later Princess Grace of Monaco (d. 1982)

1944 – Booker T. Jones, American pianist, saxophonist, songwriter, and producer

1944 – Al Michaels, American sportscaster

1964 – David Ellefson, American bass player and songwriter

1988 – Russell Westbrook, American basketball player

 

 

 

Holiday Spotlight

Diwali

The beauty of Diwali is that it is not limited to celebrating just one historical event. Each religion remembers different stories and historical events behind it. Hindus honor the return of their religious deities Sita and Rama to Ayodhya, following an exile of 14 years. The day when Goddess Mother Durga destroyed the demon Mahisha is also celebrated. The festival of lights also honors the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Ramachandra.

 Sikhs also celebrate the release of their sixth guru, Hargobind Singh, from prison in 1619. Remarkably, the foundation stone of the holiest place for Sikhs, the Golden Temple of Amritsar, was embedded in 1577 on Diwali. For Jains, Lord Mahavira, the founder of their religion, Jainism, reached the state of Nirvana or Moksha on Diwali.

 Regardless of the events or religion surrounding it, Diwali brings happy tidings and a promise of a better tomorrow. People zealously light lamps in their houses and throw grand feasts to celebrate happiness, good times, and good fortune. Purity, cleanliness, and brightness are all synonymous with Diwali. The business community's new harvest and financial year also begins on this occasion.

 Diwali festivities last five days. On the first day, people clean their houses and buy kitchen utensils or gold as a sign of good fortune. On the second day, colorful decorations and clay lamps are furnished. Day three, the primary day of Diwali, brings families together for Lakshmi pooja, during which they praise the Goddess Lakshmi and host grand dinners. The same festivities continue on days four and five, exchanging gifts and welcoming families and friends into homes.

 

 

Other Include

 American Fancy Rat & Mouse Day          

Chicken Soup for the Soul Day

Day of Mourning             

International Tongue Twister Day             

Kali Puja              

Lakshmi Puja     

Naraka Chaturdashi       

 National Happy Hour Day           

National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day                       

 Orphan Sunday               

 Sigd Day             

World Pneumonia Day

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