On this Day in History

Kanan Devi, a popular singer and actress and the earliest female star of Bengali cinema, was born on 22 April 1916 in Bengal.  Since her family’s finances were not good, Kanan had to enter the world of cinema—then still called bioscope in some quarters—when she was just 10, at a time when it was highly unusual for females to be... Read More →

At least eight people were feared dead in Finland when the plane they were in crashed into the ground, officials said (20 April). The passengers in the small Comp Air 8 kit aircraft, which caught fire on hitting the ground, were reportedly parachutists. Three people who parachuted from the plane are believed to have survived the mishap. They were treated... Read More →

“From the year . . . [1504], when Kabul was conquered, until this date [1526] I had craved Hindustan. Sometimes because my begs (high-ranking officers) had poor opinions, and sometimes because my brothers lacked cooperation, the Hindustan campaign had not been possible and the realm had not been conquered.” — Emperor Babur, on conquering India, in his memoirs  In the... Read More →

Nara Chandrababu Naidu, president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and chief minister of Andhra Pradesh between 1995 and 2004, was born on 20 April 1950 in the Chittoor district of the state. He was the eldest child of Karjoora Naidu, a farmer, and Ammannama. He had two younger sisters. Not educated himself, Karjoora Naidu ensured that his children got a... Read More →

Edward James Corbett, better known as Jim Corbett, a British hunter who became a famous conservationist and writer, was born in Nainital, now a town in the state of Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region. He died on 19 April 1955 in Kenya. His parents, Willam Christopher and Mary Jane Corbett, had come to Nainital in 1862, where Christopher had the job of... Read More →

An important figure in the 1857 revolt, Ramachandra Pandurang Tope, better known as Tatya Tope, was born in 1814 in the present-day Nashik district of Maharashtra. He was killed on 18 April 1859. Though most historical texts say he was executed by the British, Tatya Tope’s descendents have claimed in recent years that he died fighting the British. Tatya Tope’s... Read More →

Nisargadatta Maharaj, an Indian spiritual guru who taught the philosophy of Advaita (Nondualism), was born on 17 April 1897. As a child he was originally called Maruti Shivrampant Kambli. Born in Bombay, he was raised in a village in present-day Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. He had four sisters and two brothers. His father, who worked in Bombay as a domestic help, died... Read More →

Nandalal Bose, an influential Indian painter belonging to the Bengal School of Art, was born on 3 December 1882 in the Munger district of present-day Bihar to a Bengali family. He died on 16 April 1966. His father, Purnachandra, worked at the Darbhanga Estate. Nandalal got interested in images from an early age as his mother, Kshetramonidevi, would make toy... Read More →

One of the great saints of medieval India and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, the first Sikh Guru, was born on 15 April 1469 at a time when large swathes of north and central India were ruled by the Lodhi dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. When he died 70 years later, the Mughals had seized power in India. His... Read More →

Today is Ambedkar Jayanti, the day when the principal architect of the Constitution of India was born. Ambedkar stands tall among the influential figures of Indian history, and spent his life opposing caste and social discrimination in India. In recognition of his efforts, he was appointed the first Law Minister of independent India. Read more about this pioneer of the... Read More →