Page 70 - Science India August 2022

THE CALENDAR
August
Celebrating Science This Month
AUGUST 2
Acharya Sir Prafulla Chan- dra Ray was born on 2 August 1861. Regarded at the Father of Chemistry in India, Ray established the country’s first pharmaceu- tical company, the Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceu- ticals, in Calcutta in 1901
AUGUST 6
This day is observed as Hiroshima Day annually in rememberance of the atom- ic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the US in 1945 during the second World War.
AUGUST 7
Indian geneticist M. S. Swaminathan was born on this day in 1925 in Kumba- konam, Tamil Nadu. He is called the Father of Green Revolution in India for pio- neering the development of high yielding varieties of wheat in the country.
AUGUST 8
Central University of Jammu came into existence in 2011.
AUGUST 9
On this day in 1945, the US dropped the second atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, which brought about the surrender of Japan and led to the end of the second World War in the Far East.
AUGUST 10
Rohini Technology Pay-
load (RTP) was launched onboard SLV-3 on its maiden flight from SHAR Centre on 10 August 1979. However, the satellite could not be placed into its intended orbit.
AUGUST 12
Since the year 2000, 12 August is observed annu- ally as the International Youth Day by the United Nations, to bring attention to cultural and legal issues surrounding the youth.
Indian physicist Vikram Sarabhai, known as the Father of the Indian Space Programme, was born on 12 August 1919. After the launch of Sputnik — the world’s first satellite — by erstwhile Soviet Union in 1957, Sarabhai set up the Indian National Com- mittee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) that later transformed into ISRO.
AUGUST 15
India achieved Indepen- dence from British colonial rule on 15 August 1947.
ISRO or Indian Space Research Organisation was formed on 15 August 1969, to harness space technology for national development. ISRO em- barked on its mission to provide the nation space- based services and
to develop the technolo- gies to achieve the same independently.
AUGUST 20
Akshay Urja Day is ob- served annually in India to raise awareness about the development of renewable energy in India.
World Mosquito Day
is observed annually to commemorate British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that female mosquitos transmit malaria between humans.
AUGUST 21
S Chandrasekhar, the Indian-American astro- physicist who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for “theoretical studies of the physical processes of importance to the structure and evolution of the stars,” died on 21 August 1995.
AUGUST 25
National Eye Donation Fortnight is observed an- nually from 25 August to 8 September, to raise aware- ness about the importance of eye donation.
AUGUST 26
The Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) was established in Calcutta on 26 August 1950, to focus on the area of glass, ceramics, mica, refractories, etc.
AUGUST 27
The GSAT-6 was launched on 27 August 2015 by
GSAT-D6. Its mission life is about nine years.
AUGUST 29
The National Sports Day
is celebrated every year
on 29 August to mark the birth anniversary of India’s greatest hockey player ever, Major Dhyan Chand. Born on in 1905 in Allahabad, Dhyan Chand was instru- mental in India winning gold medal at the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics.
IRS-1B was launched on 29 August 1991 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in erstwhile USSR by the Vostok rocket.
AUGUST 30
National Small Industry Day is observed annually on 30 August to support and promote small in- dustries for their overall growth potential.
GSAT-7 was launched on 30 August 2013 from Kourou in French Guy- ana by Ariane-5 VA-215 rocket.
Swami Kuvalayananda, a researcher and educator who is primarily known for his pioneering research into the scientific founda- tions of yoga, was born on 30 August 1883 in Gujarat. He published
the first scientific journal specifically dedicated to studying yoga, titled Yoga Mimamsa, in 1924.
2022
Contributed by Surbhi Agrawal and Dr Rajeev Singh (University of Delhi)
70 SCIENCE INDIA
AUGUST 2022