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 – 28th May”.
1883: Birth of Savarkar
Poet and Hindu nationalist, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was born on this day at Bhagur. He was a leading figure of the Hindu Mahasabha. He was arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of a British officer. He holds the credit for coining the term, ‘Hindutva’.
1908: Ian Fleming was born
Ian Fleming, a suspense fiction novelist, was born on this day in London. He is well remembered for the creation of the character James Bond. The secret service agent of Fleming became one of the most successful popular fiction characters.
1998: Pakistan performs nuclear tests
It was on this day when Pakistan tested its nuclear weapons for the first time. Five underground nuclear tests were conducted with the name of Chagai-I. It was followed by another test on the 30th of May. This test was considered to be a direct response to India’s second testing of nuclear weapons which took place in the same year on 11th and 13th May.
2008: End of monarchy in Nepal
The world’s last Hindu monarchy in Nepal ended on this day. The Shah dynasty ruled Nepal for over 240 years. The civil war in the country took over 13,000 lives and lasted for a decade. The end of the monarchy began with the assassination of about ten members of the royal family.
2014: Death of Maya Angelou
Poet, activist, actress, composer and a lot more, Maya Angelou died on this day at the age of 86. She was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and 50 honorary degrees before her death. It took her about 15 years to complete the first set of her autobiography.
