This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened today!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 21st June”.
1527: Death of Niccolo Machiavelli
Italian Political philosopher and statesman, Niccolo Machiavelli died on this day in Florence, Italy after severe abdominal pain. He wrote his famous work, The Prince in exile and got the reputation of an immoral cynic. Negative characters are often named after him as Machiavellian.
1905: Birth of Jean-Paul Sartre
French novelist, playwright, philosopher and proponent of existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre was born on this day in Paris. In pop culture, his words, “Hell is other people” has become popular. Sartre remained involved in politics and is known for his novels and plays. He was the long term partner of the philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir. Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964 but declined it.
1953: Benazir Bhutto is born
Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim nation in modern history was born on this day in Karachi. She served two terms in the office of Pakistan’s Prime Minister. Bhutto was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani leader who was executed by the military.
1991: PV Narsimha Rao sworn in as Prime Minister of India
It was on this day when PV Narsimha Rao sworn in as the 9th Prime Minister of India. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, he was chosen to head the office. Previously he held senior positions in the cabinets of both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Rao brought in policies of liberalisation and globalisation and waded through tough times.
2015: First International Yoga Day is celebrated
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a day to mark the importance of Yoga in his UN General Assembly address. After being endorsed by 175 nations, United Nations recognised 21st June as the International Day of Yoga for the first time in 2015.
