HISTORY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861, in Calcutta into a wealthy and prominent family. His father was Maharishi Debendranath Tagore, a religious reformer and scholar. His mother, Sarada Devi, died when Tagore was very young. Tagore and his father left Calcutta in 1873 to tour India for several months, visiting his father's Santiniketan estate and Amritsar before reaching the Himalayan hill station of Dalhousie. Tagore read biographies, studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit, and examined the classical poetry of Kalidasa.

He was a poet, philosopher, musician, writer, and educationist. He was popularly called as Gurudev and his songs were popularly known as Rabindrasangeet.

Rabindranath's first book of poems, Kabi Kahini was published in 1878. In the same year Tagore sailed to England with his elder brother Satyandranath to study law. But he returned to India in 1880 and started his career as poet and writer. In 1883, Rabindranath Tagore married Mrinalini Devi Raichaudhuri, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.

In 1884, Tagore wrote a collection of poems Kori-o-Kamal. He also wrote dramas - Raja-o-Rani and Visarjan. In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore moved to Shilaidaha (now in Bangladesh) to look after the family estate. Between 1893 and 1900 Tagore wrote seven volumes of poetry, which included Sonar Tari and Khanika. In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore became the editor of the magazine Bangadarshan. He Established Bolpur Bramhacharyaashram at Shantiniketan, a school based on the pattern of old Indian Ashrama. In 1902, his wife Mrinalini died. Tagore composed Smaran, a collection of poems, dedicated to his wife.



In 1909, Rabindranath Tagore started writing Gitanjali. In 1912, Tagore went to Europe for the second time. On the journey to London he translated some of his poems from Gitanjali to English. He met William Rothenstein, a noted British painter, in London. Rothenstien was impressed by the poems, made copies and gave to Yeats and other English poets. Yeats was enthralled. He later wrote the introduction to Gitanjali when it was published in September 1912 in a limited edition by the India Society in London. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 for Gitanjali. In 1915 he was knighted by the British King George V. Two songs from his Rabindrasangeet canon are now the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.

In 1921, Rabindranath Tagore established Viswabharati University. He gave all his money from Nobel Prize and royalty money from his books to this University. Tagore was not only a creative genius, he was quite knowledgeable of Western culture, especially Western poetry and science too. Between the years 1916 and 1934 he traveled widely.

In 1940 Oxford University arranged a special ceremony in Santiniketan and awarded Rabindranath Tagore with Doctorate Of Literature. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore passed away on August 7, 1941 in his ancestral home in Calcutta.

TAGORE & EINSTEIN

HISTORY OF BILL GATES

Bill Gate was born on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington, As William Henry Gates to late mother, Mary Gates, who was a school teacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International.

Bill Gates is the man who introduced the world to Microsoft in the year 1976, which is now one of the world’s best known entrepreneurs of the world.

EARLY LIFE :

Bill Gates was very interested in software and begin computer programming at the early age of thirteen, Then Bill Gate became a student at Harvard University in 1973, where he meet Steve Ballmer who is now the CEO of Microsoft, During his undergraduation Bill Gate wrote a version of the programming language BASIC for the MITS Altair Microcomputers.
In the early age Bill Gate & Paul Allen used to ran a small company called Traf-O-Data & sold the computer that could count cities traffic.

FOUNDATION OF MICROSOFT :

Bill Gate founded Microsoft in the year 1976, when he formed a contract with MITTS (MICRO Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) to develop an basic operation system for their new microcomputer. Gates was also involved in several activities of Microsoft’s business such as packing and sending off orders.

In 1980, IBM approached Microsoft for a new BASIC operating system for its new computers, In 1980s IBM was the leading PC Manufacturer.

GATES & WINDOW :

In 1990, Microsoft released its first version of Windows, it soon became a best seller, Then in 1995,

Windows 95 was released, windows 95 was the backbone of all feature released from Windows 2000 to XP and latest Windows Vista.

BILL GATES PHILANTHROPIST :








In 1992, Bill Gates married to Malinda French, They have 3 Children’s Jennifer (1996), Rory (1999), Phoebe (2002), Bill Gates and his wife Melinda formed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with more then $28.8 billion to support philanthropic health & learning and also improved the standards of Public Schools Education in US. In 2008 Gates announced that he would work full time on his Philanthropic Interest.

HISTORY OF INTERNET

YEAR WISE HISTORY OF INTERNET

• 1957 : The United States Department of Defense formed a small agency called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop military science and technology.

• 1961-1965 : The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started to research sharing information in small, phone-linked networks. ARPA is one of their main sponsors.

• 1966 : The first ARPANET plan is unveiled by Larry Roberts of MIT. Packet switching technology is getting off the ground, and small university networks are beginning to be developed.

• 1969 : The Department of Defense commissions the fledgling ARPAnet for network research. The first official network nodes were UCLA, Standford Research Institute,UCSB, and the University of Utah. The first node to node message was sent from UCLA to SRI.

• 1971 : more nodes join the network, bringing the total to 15. These new nodes include Harvard and NASA.

• 1973 : ARPAnet goes global when the the University College of London and Norway's Royal Radar Establishment join up.

• 1974 : Network intercommunication is becoming more sophisticated; data is now transmitted more quickly and efficiently with the design of TCP (Transmission Control Program).

• 1976 : Unix is developed at AT and T; Queen Elizabeth sends out her first email message
.
• 1979 : USENET, the mother of all networked discussion groups, is developed.

• 1982 : Internet technology protocols are developed, commonly known as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol). This leads to one of the first definitions of an "internet" being a connected set of networks.

• 1984 : Number of hosts is now up to 1000, with more being added every day.

• 1985 : The first registered domain is Symbolics.com.

• 1987 : Number of hosts breaks the 10,000 mark.

• 1988 : First large-scale Internet worm affects thousands of Internet hosts.

• 1991 : Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web.

• 1993 : The World Wide Web's annual growth is now at a staggering 341,634%.

• 1994 : ARPAnet celebrates 25th anniversary.

• 1995-1997 : RealAudio introduces Internet streaming technology, dial-up systems emerge (America Online, Compuserve), the Internet backbone continues to be strengthened with the addition of MCI, Microsoft and Netscape fight for WWW browser supremacy, and there are now more than 70,000 mailing lists.

• 1998-present :The Internet continues to experience staggering growth. More people use the Internet to get connected to others, find information, conduct business, and share information than ever before in history.

HistoryGuide: HISTORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

HistoryGuide: HISTORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

HISTORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, well know as Mahatma Gandhi was born on 2nd October 1869. in the Porbandar city of Gujarat, to Karamchand Gandhi, the diwan of Porbandar, and his wife, Putlibai. Since his mother was a Hindu of the Pranami Vaishnava order, Gandhi learned the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting, mutual tolerance, etc, at a very tender age. Mohandas was married at the age of 13 to Kasturba Makhanji and had four sons. He passed the matriculation exam at Samaldas College of Bhavanagar. In the year 1888, Gandhi went to University College of London to study as a barrister.

He came back to India after being called to the bar of England and Wales by Inner Temple. In 1893, he accepted a yearlong contract from an Indian firm to a post in Natal, South Africa. There, he faced racial discrimination directed at blacks and Indians. Such incidents provoked him to work towards social activism.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a leader of the Congress Party, introduced Mahatma Gandhi to the Indian issues, Indian politics and the Indian people. Gandhi participated in the following movements related to India's freedom struggle:

• Champaran and Kheda Satyagraha,
  
• Non-cooperation Movement and Swaraj,
  
• Problems in the Indian National Congress,
  
• Salt Satyagraha and Dandi March,
  
• Quit India Movement,
  
• Freedom and Partition of India,
  

The inspiring life of Mahatma Gandhi came to an end on 30th January 1948, when he was shot by Nathuram Godse. Nathuram was a Hindu radical, who held Gandhi responsible for weakening India by ensuring the partition payment to Pakistan. Godse and his co-conspirator, Narayan Apte, were later tried and convicted. They were executed on 15th November 1949.

GANDHI'S PRINCIPLES









Mahatma Gandhi followed as well as preached the following principles throughout his life:

• Truth
  
• Nonviolence
  
• Vegetarianism
  
• Brahmacharya (Celibacy)
  
• Simplicity
  
• Faith in God
  

YEARLY LIFE OF GANDHI

1888-1891 : Studied law in London

1893 : Sailed for South Africa

1906 : Began Satyagraha campaign in South Africa to protest the requirement that Indians be fingerprinted and carry identification cards

1915 : Returned to India from South Africa

1917 : Initiated Champaran Satyagraha to alleviate the condition of indigo planters

1919 : Instituted Satyagraha campaign in India to protest the Rowlatt Acts, which deprived all Indians of important civil liberties.

1922 : Ended Non-Cooperation movement against British Raj after his followers were involved in a series of riots and disturbances that violated his policy of nonviolence

1930 : Led Dandi March to collect salt in protest of the British salt tax.

1931 : Signed a pact with Lord Irwin to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and went to London to attend Round Table Conference.

1932 : Fasted to protest the treatment of people who belonged to no Hindu caste, the Harijans or Untouchables

1942 : Launched Quit India Movement against British Raj.

1948 : January 30,: Assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.

Gandhi Samadhi

HISTORY OF CHESS

Did you know that chess is the oldest skill game in the world? But chess is more than just a game of skill. It can tell you much about the way people lived in medieval times. If you look at the way a chess board is set up, then study the pieces and how they are used, you will realize that chess is a history of medieval times in miniature. The six different chess pieces on the board represent a cross section of medieval life with its many ceremonies, grandeur, and wars.

Chess was played many centuries ago in China, India, and Persia. No one really knows for sure in which country it originated. Then, in the eighth century, armies of Arabs known as Moors invaded Persia. The Moors learned chess from the Persians. When the Moors later invaded Spain, the soldiers brought the game of chess with them. Soon the Spanish were playing chess, too. From Spain, chess quickly spread throughout all of Europe.

The pawns on the chess board represent serfs, or laborers. There are more of them than any other piece on the board, and often they are sacrificed to save the more valuable pieces. In medieval times, serfs were considered no more than property of landowners, or chattel. Life was brutally hard for serfs during this era of history. They worked hard and died young. They were often left unprotected while wars raged around them. They could be traded, used as a diversion, or even sacrificed to allow the landowners to escape harm.

The castle piece on a chess board is the home, or the refuge, just as it was a home in medieval times. In chess, each side has two castles, or rooks, as they are sometimes called.

The knight on a chess board represents the professional soldier of medieval times whose job it was to protect persons of rank, and there are two of them per each side in a game of chess. Knights in a game of chess are more important than pawns, but less important than bishops, kings, or queens. Their purpose in the game of chess is to protect the more important pieces, and they can be sacrificed to save those pieces just as pawns can.

There is a bishop in the game of chess, who represents the church. The church was a rich and mighty force in medieval times, and religion played a large part in every person’s life. It is no wonder that a figure that represented the concept of religion found its way into the game. A bishop was the name for a priest in the Catholic church who had risen through the ranks to a more powerful position. In the game of chess, there are two bishops for each side.

The queen is the only piece on the board during a chess game that represents a woman, and she is the most powerful piece of the game. In the game of chess, there is only one queen for each side. Many people do not realize that queens in medieval times often held a powerful, yet precarious, position. The king was often guided by her advice, and in many cases the queen played games of intrigue at court. But kings could set wives aside or even imprison them in nunneries with the approval of the church (and without the queen’s approval), and many women schemed merely to hold her place at court. The machinations of queens working either for or against their kings are well noted in history throughout medieval times, and often she held more power than the king did.

The king is the tallest piece on the board, and is as well defended on the chessboard as in medieval life. In medieval times, the surrender of the king would mean the loss of the kingdom to invading armies and that could mean change for the worse. It was to everyone’s advantage, from the lowest serf to the highest-ranking official, to keep the king safe from harm. The king is the most important, but not the most powerful piece in chess. If you do not protect your king, you lose the game.

The next time you set up your chessboard and get ready to play a friendly game or two, think of chess as a history lesson. The pieces on the board represent a way of life that is no more, and the real life dramas that occurred in medieval times are now only a game.

HSITORY OF CRICKET

The origins of cricket are very vague, and many theories have been put forward suggesting its origins. Extensive studies and research have been conducted to trace its history and they have come out with different versions. However it is commonly accepted that the game originated from a very old leisure activity indulged by shepherds. The shepherds used crook and other farm equipments to hit a ball like deceive which used to be made up of wool or stone.
The first evidence of cricket being played was recorded in the year 1550, by the pupils of Royal Grammar School, Guildford. In the year 1611 it is reported that two young men from Sussex were punished for playing cricket instead of going to the church. The first match is recorded to have been played at Coxheath in Kent in the year 1646.

Ecricket used to thrive greatly as a gambling game. People used to place huge amounts of bets in matches and thus the game started to get recognition. Cricket was in fact a major gambling sport towards the end of the 17th century. It is recorded that in the year 1679, a 11-a-side match was played with stakes as high as 50 guineas per side.

Dhe 18th century cricket survived and thrived due to the huge amounts of money via monetary backing and gambling. The first instance of a match to be played between counties in England is recorded to be on 29th June in the year 1709. This match was played between Surrey and Kent at Dartford Brent.

The 18th century also witnessed the emergence of two types of cricket players. They were known as the retained player and the individual player. Generally the retained player was the servant of the lord and a cricketer as well. On the other hand the individual player was free to play anywhere with his skills. Basically it was something like the player could play anywhere with the amount of skill he possesses.

In the year 1787, the Marylebone Cricket Club also known MCC was created. The MCC has since then gone on to become one of the most prominent bodies in world cricket. Cricket in its initial days were restricted to the aristocratic class of England. Cricket gradually went on to become the national game of England.

The late 18th century was a very crucial phase for the development of the game, both within and outside Britain. The game was spread far and wide mainly due to England’s imperialism. Wherever they went, the game went with them and thus spread outside England. The first official match was held between Canada and United States was held in the year 1844.
In the present times, cricket has its own following of loyal fans. The International Cricket Council, better known as the ICC is the governing body in world cricket. The ICC was founded on the 15th of June in the year 1909. All laws relating to ODIs and Test Cricket are framed and implemented by the ICC.

DATES IN CRICKET HISTORY










1550 (approx) Evidence of cricket being played in Guildford, Surrey.

1598 Cricket mentioned in Florio's Italian-English dictionary.

1610 Reference to "cricketing" between Weald and Upland near Chevening, Kent. 1611 Randle
Cotgrave's French-English dictionary translates the French word "crosse" as a cricket staff.
Two youths fined for playing cricket at Sidlesham, Sussex.

1676 First reference to cricket being played abroad, by British residents in Aleppo, Syria.

1694 Two shillings and sixpence paid for a "wagger" (wager) about a cricket match at Lewes.

1697 First reference to "a great match" with 11 players a side for fifty guineas, in Sussex.

1700 Cricket match announced on Clapham Common.

1709 First recorded inter-county match: Kent v Surrey.

1710 First reference to cricket at Cambridge University.

1727 Articles of Agreement written governing the conduct of matches between the teams of the Duke of Richmond and Mr Brodrick of Peperharow, Surrey.

1729 Date of earliest surviving bat, belonging to John Chitty, now in the pavilion at The Oval.

1767 (approx) Foundation of the Hambledon Club in Hampshire, the leading club in England for the next 30 years.

1769 First recorded century, by John Minshull for Duke of Dorset's XI v Wrotham.

1771 Width of bat limited to 4 1/4 inches, where it has remained ever since.

1776 Earliest known scorecards, at the Vine Club, Sevenoaks, Kent.

1780 The first six-seamed cricket ball, manufactured by Dukes of Penshurst, Kent.

1788 First revision of the Laws of Cricket by MCC.

1794 First recorded inter-schools match: Charterhouse v Westminster.

1795 First recorded case of a dismissal "leg before wicket".

1806 First Gentlemen v Players match at Lord's.

1807 First mention of "straight-armed" (i.e. round-arm) bowling: by John Willes of Kent.

1809 Thomas Lord's second ground opened at North Bank, St John's Wood.

1811 First recorded women's county match: Surrey v Hampshire at Ball's Pond, London.

1814 Lord's third ground opened on its present site, also in St John's Wood.

1827 First Oxford v Cambridge match, at Lord's. A draw.

1828 MCC authorise the bowler to raise his hand level with the elbow.

1833 John Nyren publishes his classic Young Cricketer's Tutor and The Cricketers of My Time.

1836 First North v South match, for many years regarded as the principal fixture of the season.

1836 (approx) Batting pads invented.

1844 First official international match: Canada v United States.

1845 First match played at The Oval.

1849 First Yorkshire v Lancashire match.

1850 Wicket-keeping gloves first used.

1850 John Wisden bowls all ten batsmen in an innings for North v South.

1853 First mention of a champion county: Nottinghamshire.

1858 First recorded instance of a hat being awarded to a bowler taking three wickets with consecutive balls.

1864 Overhand bowling authorised by MCC.

1868 Team of Australian aborigines tour England.

1873 WG Grace becomes the first player to record 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season.
First regulations restricting county qualifications, often regarded as the official start of the County Championship.

1877 First Test match: Australia beat England by 45 runs in Melbourne.

1880 First Test in England: a five-wicket win against Australia at The Oval.

1882 Following England's first defeat by Australia in England, an "obituary notice" to English cricket in the Sporting Times leads to the tradition of The Ashes.

1889 South Africa's first Test match.
Declarations first authorised, but only on the third day, or in a one-day match.

1895 WG Grace scores 1,000 runs in May, and reaches his 100th hundred.

1899 AEJ Collins scores 628 not out in a junior house match at Clifton College, the highest individual score in any match.

1900 Six-ball over becomes the norm, instead of five.

1909 Imperial Cricket Conference (ICC - now the International Cricket Council) set up, with England, Australia and South Africa the original members.

1910 Six runs given for any hit over the boundary, instead of only for a hit out of the ground.

1912 First and only triangular Test series played in England, involving England, Australia and South Africa.

1926 Victoria score 1,107 v New South Wales at Melbourne, the record total for a first-class innings.

1928 West Indies' first Test match.

AP "Tich" Freeman of Kent and England becomes the only player to take more than 300 first-class wickets in a season: 304.

1930 New Zealand's first Test match.
Donald Bradman's first tour of England: he scores 974 runs in the five Ashes Tests, still a record for any Test series.

1931 Stumps made higher (28 inches not 27) and wider (nine inches not eight - this was optional until 1947).

1932 India's first Test match.
Hedley Verity of Yorkshire takes ten wickets for ten runs v Nottinghamshire, the best innings analysis in first-class cricket.

1932-33 The Bodyline tour of Australia in which England bowl at batsmen's bodies with a packed leg-side field to neutralise Bradman's scoring.

1934 Jack Hobbs retires, with 197 centuries and 61,237 runs, both records. First women's Test: Australia v England at Brisbane.

1935 MCC condemn and outlaw Bodyline.

1947 Denis Compton of Middlesex and England scores a record 3,816 runs in an English season.

1948 First five-day Tests in England.

1952 Pakistan's first Test match.

1953 England regain the Ashes after a 19-year gap, the longest ever.

1956 Jim Laker of England takes 19 wickets for 90 v Australia at Manchester, the best match analysis in first-class cricket.

1957 Declarations authorised at any time.

1960 First tied Test, Australia v West Indies at Brisbane.

1963 Distinction between amateur and professional cricketers abolished in English cricket.

1969 Limited-over Sunday league inaugurated for first-class counties.

1971 First one-day international: Australia v England at Melbourne.

1975 First World Cup: West Indies beat Australia in final at Lord's.

1976 First women's match at Lord's, England v Australia.

1978 Graham Yallop of Australia wears a protective helmet to bat in a Test match, the first player to do so.

1979 Packer and official cricket agree peace deal.

1980 Eight-ball over abolished in Australia, making the six-ball over universal.

1981 England beat Australia in Leeds Test, after following on with bookmakers offering odds of 500 to 1 against them winning.

1982 Sri Lanka's first Test match.

1991 South Africa return, with a one-day international in India.

1992 Zimbabwe's first Test match.

1993 The ICC ceases to be administered by MCC, becoming an independent organisation with its own chief executive.

1994 Brian Lara of Warwickshire becomes the only player to pass 500 in a firstclass innings: 501 not out v Durham.

2003 Twenty20 Cup, a 20-over-per-side evening tournament, inaugurated in England.

2004 Lara becomes the first man to score 400 in a Test innings, against England.

2005 The ICC introduces Powerplays and Supersubs in ODIs, and hosts the inaugural Superseries.

2006 Pakistan forfeit a Test at The Oval after being accused of ball tampering

Proud to be an INDIAN

History of Islam

The word Islam means "submission to God". The Holy Quran describes Islam as an Arabic word Deen (way of life). The followers of Islam are called Muslims. The literal meaning of Muslim is "one who surrenders" or "submits" to the will of God. In order to understand Islam, the basic portrayal of belief in Quran must be considered. According to Quran, those who submit to one God are Muslims. Aisha Y. Musa writes in his article, Jews in the Quran: An Introduction that, "Islam is the religion of all the prophets from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. (10:71-72, 84; 2:128-133; 5:110-112)." Quran also declares that all the prophets who came before Mohammad and their followers were all Muslims.

The origin of Islam dates back to the creation of the world. All the prophets who came to this world preached the same message of believing in one God and to accept them as His messenger. The prophets were also blessed with a manifestation of divine will or truth. Likewise, Prophet Mohammad was also a messenger of God. He revealed the truth and the way of life through the Holy Quran.

Before the birth of Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the Arab society believed in multiple Gods. Although the Arabs believed in the unity of God, but they also claimed that God has entrusted His duties to various gods, goddesses and idols. For this purpose, they had more than 360 idols. They considered angels as the daughters of God. They were ignorant of social values. They were nomadic people who were dependent on cattle for their living. There was no government or law. All power existed with the rich. The society was full of barbarity and brutality. Tribes fought with each other over trivial matters for centuries. A slight argument over horses or water could lead to the slaughtering of thousands of innocent people.

It was the birth of Prophet Mohammad in 570 A.D in the city of Makkah which brought a revolution to the entire fate of the nomadic Arabs. He became famous among the people of Makkah at a very early age because of his allegiance and reliability. He was widely known as Al-Ameen (honest, trustworthy.)

At the age of 40, when Mohammad was meditating at Mt. Hera, he received a revelations from God. The angel Gabriel said to him, "Iqra" which means "to read". Mohammad replied "I cannot read". Gabriel embraced and released him. Then the first five verses of God was revealed to him which said, "Recite in the name of your Lord who created! He created man, out of a (mere) cloth of congealed blood. Recite; and thy Lord is most bountiful. He who had taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not." (96:1-5)

Mohammad started proclaiming the message of believing in one God. The people who once called him "Trustworthy" and "Honest" boycotted and plotted to kill him. In 622 A.D., due to worsening living conditions and social isolation, Prophet Mohammad migrated to Medina along with his followers. This flight was known as Hijrah and marks the beginning of the Muslims calendar. Mohammad's message spread rapidly and the number of followers increased in Medina. During the next few years, a series of battles were fought between various tribes of Makkah and the Muslims of Medina. In 628 A.D, the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed between the two parties. Truce was declared for 10 years. The treaty was broken in 629 A.D by the non-Muslims of the Makkans. Mohammad moved towards Makkah with 10,000 men and the battle was won without a single bloodshed. Mohmmad died in 632 A.D , at the age of 63 in the city of Medina. Mohammad's death brought a huge catastrophe among Muslims. People could not believe that Mohammad had left them forever. Many of the followers were perplexed and distraught, and claimed him to be still living. At that time Mohammad funeral, Abu Bakr, who was the most respected of all the followers affirmed that, "O people, those of you who worshipped Mohammad, Mohammad has died. And those of you who worshipped God, God is still living."

HISTORY OF ISAAC NEWTON

NEWTON, SIR ISAAC, 1642-1727, English mathematician and natural philosopher (physicist), who is considered by many the greatest scientist that ever lived.

EARLY LIFE AND WORK : Newton studied at Cambridge and was professor there from 1669 to 1701, succeeding his teacher Isaac Barrow as Lucasian professor of mathematics. His most important discoveries were made during the two-year period from 1664 to 1666, when the university was closed and he retired to his hometown of Woolsthorpe. At that time he discovered the law of universal gravitation, began to develop the calculus, and discovered that white light is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. These findings enabled him to make fundamental contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and theoretical and experimental physics.

THE PRINCIPIA : Newton summarized his discoveries in terrestrial and celestial mechanics in his Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica [mathematical principles of natural philosophy] (1687), one of the greatest milestones in the history of science. In it he showed how his principle of universal gravitation provided an explanation both of falling bodies on the earth and of the motions of planets, comets, and other bodies in the heavens. The first part of the Principia is devoted to dynamics and includes Newton's three famous laws of motion; the second part to fluid motion and other topics; and the third part to the system of the world, i.e., the unification of terrestrial and celestial mechanics under the principle of gravitation and the explanation of Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Although Newton used the calculus to discover his results, he explained them in the Principia by use of older geometric methods.

LATER WORK : Newton's discoveries in optics were presented in his Opticks (1704), in which he elaborated his theory that light is composed of corpuscles, or particles. His corpuscular theory dominated optics until the early 19th cent., when it was replaced by the wave theory of light. The two theories were combined in the modern quantum theory. Among his other accomplishments were his construction (1668) of a reflecting telescope and his anticipation of the calculus of variations, founded by Gottfried Leibniz and the Bernoullis. In later years Newton considered mathematics and physics a recreation and turned much of his energy toward alchemy, theology, and history, particularly problems of chronology.

LATER LIFE : Newton was his university's representative in Parliament (1689-90, 1701-2) and was president of the Royal Society from 1703 until his death. He was made warden of the mint in 1696 and master in 1699, being knighted in 1705 in recognition of his services at the mint as much as for his scientific accomplishments. Although Newton was known as an open and generous person, at various times in his life he became involved in quarrels and controversies. The most notable was his dispute with Leibniz over which of them had first invented calculus; today they are jointly ascribed the honor.

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was a keen mathematician from an early age, paying particular attention to calculus. Whilst at secondary school he wrote an essay expressing his desire to study the theoretical aspects of mathematics and physics. His family moved to Italy when he was 16, but he decided to stay in Munich, studying to be an electrical engineer, in an attempt to gain entry into the ETH, a famous technical college in Zurich. He failed his exam though.

In 1900 Albert Einstein graduated as a teacher in mathematics and physics, and tried yet again for a place at the ETH (this time as a teacher). Yet again he was unsuccessful, unlike his friend and genius, mathematician Marcel Grossman. Fortunately, he was able to avoid Swiss military service, due to the poor state of his feet.

Einstein’s first job was a temporary post in a patent office, which he started in 1902. His post was made permanent in 1904, and he lasted there a total of seven years. In his spare time, he wrote a phenomenal amount of work, concerning theoretical aspects of physics. This arduous toil after office hours was finally rewarded in 1905, when he received a doctorate from the University of Zurich. In that same year he was to write three papers, one of which concerned the theory of relativity. He was not the first scientist to postulate the theory; rather he grouped several areas together to come up with the special theory of relativity, which he later developed into the general theory of relativity.

Having gained a seat at the University of Zurich, as a professor of physics, Einstein was soon inundated with offers from other colleges and universities. He was at last being recognised as one of the time’s great thinkers. In 1911 he was made full professor at a university in Prague. This was an important time for Einstein, as the forecasts he made concerning his theories, would begin to be backed up by experimental evidence. He worked closely with mathematician Grossman at this time.

In 1912, he moved from Prague to Zurich to work at the ETH, the college where he had formally been rejected twice. Two years later he returned to Germany to continue his research. He was able to convince several other genii that his theory was correct. In 1919 his theory was proved and he was cast as a hero in popular newspapers.

His first visit to the USA occurred in 1921, the same year in which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. Einstein was far too busy travelling the world, teaching his theory to pick up the prize though! Rather unsurprisingly, years of overwork caught up with him in 1928, when he collapsed, totally exhausted.

Einstein realised that he would have to slow down. He returned to the USA in 1932, to become a professor at Princeton. He planned to split his time between living in America and Germany, but whilst in the US, the Nazis took power in Germany. Einstein, of Jewish origin, never returned. Consequently, he was granted permanent residency in the US in 1935.
He continued working until he was struck by illness in 1949. He died six years later. One of the last things Einstein did was pen a letter to philosopher Bertrand Russell, agreeing that his name should appear on a list pleading for the nuclear disarmament of all International powers. It is for his desire for worldwide peace and his brilliant mind that he should always be remembered.

HISTORY OF COMPUTER

The word ‘computer’ originally implied a person, who, under instructions from a mathematician, performed mechanical calculations. Mechanical calculating devices such as the abacus were often put to use to aid this process.

At the end of the Middle Ages, mathematics and engineering in Europe received a considerable boost, thus leading to the invention of numerous mechanical calculating devices. The technology for clockwork was developed by the early 17th century. The period between the early 19th century and early 20th century saw the development of a number of technologies which would be vital for the development of the digital computer later on. Some examples are the punched card and the valve. Charles Babbage was the first person to design a fully programmable computer as early as 1837. However, he was unable to actually construct his computer due to a variety of reasons.

Analog computers were increasingly used in the first half of the 20th century for a number of scientific computing needs. However, they became obsolete after the development of the digital computer.


The first digital computer was the Atanasoff Berry Computer . It used a binary system of arithmetic, parallel processing, a separation of memory and computing functions and regenerative memory. Binary math and electronic circuits – both of which are used in today’s computers – were first used in the Atanasoff Berry Computer.

In the 1930’s and 1940’s, newer and more efficient computers were continuously developed. Gradually, they came to possess the key features which are present in modern day computers – digital electronics and flexibility of programming.

Among the more important machines to be developed during this time, the American ENIAC was prominent. It was a general purpose machine, but had an inflexible architecture. Later a far superior technique known as the stored program architecture was developed. It is the foundation from which all modern computers are derived.


Throughout the 1950’s, computer design was primarily valve driven. This was later replaced by transistor-driven design in the 1960’s. Transistor-based computers were smaller, faster and cheaper, and hence commercially viable. Integrated circuit technology, adopted in the 1970’s enabled computer production costs to hit a new low, so that even individuals could afford them. That was the birth of the personal computer, as it is known today.

HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS

Every culture on earth has developed some mathematics. In some cases, this mathematics has spread from one culture to another. Now there is one predominant international mathematics, and this mathematics has quite a history. It has roots in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, then grew rapidly in ancient Greece. Mathematics written in ancient Greek was translated into Arabic. About the same time some mathematics of India was translated into Arabic. Later some of this mathematics was translated into Latin and became the mathematics of Western Europe. Over a period of several hundred years, it became the mathematics of the world.



Before the modern age and the worldwide spread of knowledge, written examples of new mathematical developments have come to light only in a few locales. The most ancient mathematical texts available are Plimpton 322 (Babylonian mathematics c. 1900 BC), the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus (Egyptian mathematics c. 2000-1800 BC) and the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus (Egyptian mathematics c. 1890 BC). All of these texts concern the so-called Pythagorean theorem, which seems to be the most ancient and widespread mathematical development after basic arithmetic and geometry.

The Greek and Hellenistic contribution greatly refined the methods (especially through the introduction of deductive reasoning and mathematical rigor in proofs) and expanded the subject matter of mathematics. The study of mathematics as a subject in its own right begins in the 6th century BCE with the Pythagoreans, who coined the term "mathematics" from the ancient Greek μάθημα (mathema), meaning "subject of instruction". Chinese mathematics made early contributions, including a place value system. The Hindu-Arabic numeral system and the rules for the use of its operations, in use throughout the world today, likely evolved over the course of the first millennium AD in India and was transmitted to the west via Islamic mathematics. Islamic mathematics, in turn, developed and expanded the mathematics known to these civilizations.[9] Many Greek and Arabic texts on mathematics were then translated into Latin, which led to further development of mathematics in medieval Europe.

From ancient times through the Middle Ages, bursts of mathematical creativity were often followed by centuries of stagnation. Beginning in Renaissance Italy in the 16th century, new mathematical developments, interacting with new scientific discoveries, were made at an increasing pace that continues through the present day.

THE HISTORY OF ZERO

In today's modern mathematics, we have become accustomed to zero as a number. It's hard to
believe that most ancient number systems didn't include zero. The Mayan civilization may have been among the first to have a symbol for zero. The Mayas flourished in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico about 1300 years ago. They used the as a placeholder, in a vertical place-value system. It is considered one of their cultures greatest achievements.

The ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks alike had no symbol for zero. In Greek geometry, zero and irrational numbers were impossible. The Greeks made great strides in mathematics, but it was all done with a number system without zero. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy (ca. A.D. 150) was the first to write a zero at the end of a number. For this he used a circular symbol.

In ancient Babylonian history there was no use of the zero. In the later Babylonian or during the Seleucid period a special symbol, which was also used as a separation mark between sentences, came into use for a zero. There's a definite possibility that the Babylonians used this mark for a zero within a number, as early as the end of the eighth century B.C. Up until the time of Aristotle, there seems to be no evidence that the Babylonians ever regarded zero as a number. Aristotle discussed division by zero in connection with speed through a vacuum.

Throughout the Dark Ages, Western mathematics was held back by the Roman's traditional numbering system. The first to think differently was Leonardo Fibonacci. He was a merchant's son, born in the Italian city-state Pisa, late in the twelfth century. In Pisa, he studied the work of Euclid and other Greek mathematicians. When he was still a boy, he moved to the Muslim city of Bugia, in North Africa. There he examined leather and furs before they were shipped back to Pisa. Leonardo got an education in Arabic culture as he traveled around the Mediterranean to Constantinople, Egypt and Syria. He recognized that the Hindu-Arabic numerals, the numerals we use today, were superior to the Roman numerals he had grown up with in the West.

In the sixth century, mathematicians in India developed a place-value system. They introduced the concept of zero to keep their symbols in their proper places. In the seventh century, Hindu scholars introduced to Islam the ideas of zero and place-value. These ideas spread rapidly throughout the Arabic world. Six centuries later, Fibonacci was so impressed with the ease of Hindu-Arabic numerals that he wrote a book entitled Liber abaci.

The Pisan local merchants, the trading class, ignored Fibonacci's book. They were wallowing in prosperity and did not want to be bothered with giving up Roman numerals and adopting a zero. Ferbonacci's mathematician friends liked the new number system and slowly over time gave up the Roman numerals. By the fifteenth century, the numerals were showing up on coins and gravestones. Western mathematics had emerged from the Dark Ages, and was flourishing into a new number system with a zero, the Hindu-Arabic numerals. The immediate advances in mathematics after that time are proof of the importance of, the zero.

HISTORY OF INDIA

India is a country with a rich history and culture. Home to the Indus Valley civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity arrived in the first millennium AD and mingled into the region's diverse culture. India became a modern nation-state in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by widespread nonviolent resistance. The history of India can be divided into four major segments, the ancient era, the medieval era, the modern era and the post-independence era.

The hallmark of Indian history dates back to the stone age with paintings at the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. These paintings symbolise the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 3300 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic Civilization, which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country.

The empire built by the Maurya dynasty under Emperor Ashoka united most of South Asia in the third century BCE. From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, including those led by the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans in the north-western Indian subcontinent. From the third century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as "The Golden Age" of Indian history. Among the notable South Indian empires were the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Pallavas, Pandyas, and Cholas. Science, engineering, art, literature, astronomy, and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Paintings at the Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad, Maharashtra were made in the 6th century.

Following invasions from Central Asia between the tenth and twelfth centuries, much of north India came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate, and later the Mughal dynasty. Mughal emperors gradually expanded their kingdoms to cover large parts of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms, such as the Vijayanagara Empire, flourished, especially in the south. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, the Mughal supremacy declined and the Maratha Empire became the dominant power. From the sixteenth century, several European countries, including Portugal, Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, started arriving as traders and later took advantage of the fractious nature of relations between the kingdoms to establish colonies in the country.

During the first half of the twentieth century, a nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian National Congress and other political organizations. Led by Mahatma Gandhi, and displaying commitment to ahimsa, or non-violence, millions of protesters engaged in mass campaigns of civil disobedience. Finally, on 15 August 1947, India gained independence from British rule, but was partitioned, in accordance to wishes of the Muslim League, along the lines of religion to create the Islamic nation-state of Pakistan. Three years later, on 26 January 1950, India became a republic and a new constitution came into effect.

The history of India is a mingle between the East and the West. India has always been an invader's paradise, while at the same time its natural isolation and magnetic religions allowed it to adapt to and absorb many of the peoples who penetrated its mountain passes. No matter how many Persians, Greeks, Chinese nomads, Arabs, Portuguese, Britishers and other raiders had their way into this great country, many of them merged into the society giving rise to a country full of diversity in terms of culture, religion, language and architecture.