This Day In History- November 21

1926 – Noted yesteryears actor mostly known for his negative roles, Premnath Malhotra was born. In a career spread across four decades Premnath featured in numerous successful films many of which went on to become blockbusters.

Prem Nath

He starred in hits like ‘Aan'(1952), ‘Teesri Manzil’ (1966), ‘Johny Mera Naam’ (1970), ‘Roti Kapda Aur Makaan'(1974), ‘Dharmatma’ (1975), ‘Kalicharan’ (1976) etc. He was last seen in ‘Hum Dono’ (1985).

Helen

1939 – Popular dancer and actress Helen was born. Helen, who started as a chorus dancer, got her first big break in Shakti Samanta’s ‘Howrah Bridge'(1958) in which she performed ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’. It catapulted her into spotlight. She appeared in a number of commercially successful films including ‘Gumnaam’ (1965) for which she was nominated in the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Category, ‘Pagla Kahin Ka'(1970), ‘Sholay'(1975), ‘Don'(1978), ‘Dostana'(1980) etc. Her portrayal of ‘Suzy’ in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Lahu Ke Do Rang'(1979) earned the award for best supporting actress at the 27th Filmfare Awards in the year 1980. In 2009 she was bestowed the Padma Shri by the Indian Government.

1947 – The First stamp of Independent India, the Indian Flag was released. The Stamp was meant for foreign correspondence.

1962 – The Sino-Indian War came to an end as the Chinese declared unilateral ceasefire and withdrew from the disputed area.

1963 – The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO’s major research wing, was founded. The VSSC focuses on space vehicles and rockets for satellite programmes. Its headquarters are at Trivandrum, Kerala. The Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) was also formed at Thumba in Kerala.

C V Raman Autograph Card

1970 – Eminent Physicist and Nobel Laureate Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman passed away. Sir Raman went to the Presidency College, Chennai at the age of eleven where he learning Physics. He stood first as he completed his B.A. and also won the Gold medal in Physics. He was associated with the IACS at Calcutta and it was here, in 1928, that his experiments on scattering of light led to the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’. The American Chemical Society and the IACS recognise this event as an ‘International Historic Chemical Landmark’. He won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics for the same in 1930 becoming the first Asian and non-white to win the Nobel in the field of science. In 1943 he founded the CV Chemical and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. which established four factories in South India. In 1947, the Government of India appointed him as the first National Professor. In 1924, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society while he was knighted in 1929. He received the Lenin Peace prize in 1957. In 1954, the Government of India bestowed the nation’s highest civilian honour, the ‘Bharat Ratna’ upon him. To commemorate the landmark discovery of the Raman Effect, every year February 28 is celebrated as ‘National Science Day’.

1971 – The Indian Army defeated Pakistani forces in the Battle of Garibpur.

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