On This Day

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Important events of history that took place in India and elsewhere on today’s date.

21 May

21 May

In India

1526 Date of the First Battle of Panipat, fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in North India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate.

1911 K N Ezhuthachan, writer and scholar of Malayalam literature, was born in Cherpulassery, Palakkad. He was one among the principal followers of the idea of social impact on literature.

1922 Surendra Mohanty, author who wrote in Odia, was born in Cuttack. He was the recipient of Sahitya Academy Award for his novel Nilashaila.

1991 A suicide bomber assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at a campaign rally near Madras. At least 14 others were also killed.

Elsewhere

0427 BCE Plato, Greek philosopher, was born. His works include the Republic, and the dialogues Critias and Timaeus in which he mentions the island empire of Atlantis.

1688 Alexander Pope, English poet, translator, and satirist of the Augustan period and one of its greatest artistic exponents, was born. His Essay on Criticism contains the line: "A little learning is a dangerous thing..."

1844 Henri Rousseau, French post-impressionist painter, was born in Laval, France. He was also known as Le Douanier, a humorous description of his occupation as a toll and tax collector.

1904 The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded. It is the world governing body of association football responsible for the organization of the World Cup, which is one of the world's most viewed sporting events.

1952 IBM introduced its 701 Electronic Data Processing System, the first commercially successful computer. It was withdrawn from marketing in 1954.

1998 Indonesian president Suharto resigned after 31 years in power.

2000 Barbara Cartland, British author who wrote more than 700 books, mostly formulaic novels of romantic love set in the 19th century, died at age 98.

2013 Microsoft announced the release of Xbox One, video gaming brand.

Significance

Anti-Terrorism Day is observed to wean away the youth from terrorism and the cult of violence by highlighting the sufferings of common people and showing as to how it is prejudicial to the national interest.

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