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FROM A BULLET TO A MOULD
History does not always move forward in
pomp and ceremony, and even seemingly unin­
spiring events can change its course.
A bullet fired from 19-year-old Serbian Gavri-
10 Princip's pistol not only killed the Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, but triggered a World War
that claimed more than one million lives.
A mould, noticed by chance, in Alexander
Fleming's unclean petri dish, led to the discov­
ery of penicillin, the medicine that eventually
saved millions of lives, and marked a milestone
in the history of medicine.
Inventions, discoveries, explorations... all
have contributed to the progress of mankind.
On the darker side, you see vicious battles, dev­
astating epidemics, and crimes.
This issue of 'Tell Me Why,' tells you about
some such landmarks in the history of our
world.
What makes the Colosseum a
landmark in world history?
The
Colosseum of Ancient
Rome is one of the landmarks
of world history, for it is a testi­
monial to the greatness of the
Roman Empire.
This giant am phitheatre was
built in the centre of Rome.
The construction was started
by the Em peror Vespasian in
AD 72, and completed in AD
80 by his successor and heir,
the Emperor Titus.
The Colosseum was huge. It
could seat 50,000 people. It
covered around 2.4 hectares
of land. It took more than 1 . 1
million tonnes of marble, stone,
and bricks to com plete the
massive structure. The Roman
emperors
staged gladiator
fights and other forms of enter4
tainment for the Roman people
in the Colosseum, including
mock sea battles.
After four centuries of active
use, the magnificent arena fell
into neglect. Though two-thirds
of the original Colosseum has
been destroyed over time, the
am phitheatre remains a popu­
lar tourist destination, as well
as an iconic symbol of Rome.
Why is the Antonine Plague
considered a turni ng point
in the history of Rome?
I
n AD 1 65, a plague called
the Antonine plague hit the
Roman Empire. The epi­
dem ic stole the life of a
Roman
em peror called
Lucius Verus. From his fam­
ily name Antoninus, the epi­
dem ic got its name Antonine
plague.
This disease was brought
back to the Rome by troops
returning from cam paigns in the
Near East.
In AD 1 78, it caused 2,000
deaths a day in Rome, and by
AD 1 80, it had killed thirty per
cent of the population. The plague
ram paged throughout the Empire
from Persia to Spain, and from
Britain to Egypt.
The plague almost wiped out
the Roman army. The disease
broke out again after nine years.
In brief, the plague may well have
created the conditions for the
decline of the Roman Empire.
Roman soldiers sacked a temple of the god
Apollo in Seleucia. The Romans believed
that the Plague was Apollo's way of punish­
ing them for destroying his temple.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
5
Look! I've
gradua ted from
Nal anda.
What is the significance of the rise of
the Gupta Dynasty?
T
he Gupta Empire existed at the
same time as the Roman Empire. It
covered about two thirds of modern
India, and parts of modern day Paki­
stan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
The Gupta Empire lasted from about
320 AD to about 550 AD. The dynasty
was founded by Sri Gupta. Chan­
dragupta I, Sam udragupta, and Chan­
dragupta I I were the most notable
rulers of this dynasty. During this time,
there was peace and prosperity.
Chandragupta I was also known as Chan­
dragupta the Great, and Maharajadhiraja.
Though the Gupta dynasty was established
by Sri Gupta, it was Chandragupta I who
consolidated and expanded it.
6
Tell MeWhy
Writers, artists and
were
musicians
encouraged.
It was also an era of
extensive i nventions
and discoveries in sci­
ence and technology.
Nalanda U niversity,
which
became the
centre for the educa­
tion, was built during
this time.
The g reat m athe­
m atician Aryabhata,
the famous poet Kali­
dasa, and the revered
physician Dhanvan­
tari all lived d u ri ng
this era.
Therefore, it is not
surprising
that this
period is considered to
be the Golden Age of
Ancient I ndia.
Why is Constantine known as a great
Emperor?
T
he Roman Emperor Constantine,
who ruled from 306 to 337 AD, has left
his m ark in history as the ruler who
united the Western Roman Empire
with the Eastern Roman Empire.
When Constanti ne came to the
throne, the Roman Empire consisted
of two separate empires, one in West­
ern Europe, and the other in Eastern
Europe. Constantine was a mighty
general who became the sole ruler of
both the western and eastern halves,
and u nited them into one powerful
empi re.
In AD 324, Constantine established
a new capital of the Roman Empire.
He named it Constanti nople, and it
became the largest city of its times.
Constantine was converted to Christi­
anity, and became the first Christian
em peror of the Roman Em pire.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
7
INVASION OF THE HUNS
Why is the Huns' i nvasion of
Europe i mportant?
The H uns were a tribe from
Central Asia. They were roaming
herdsmen who were extremely
warlike by nature. The Huns
were skilled horsemen who
entered Europe from Central
Asia in AD 372. As they moved
westward, they absorbed Ger­
man tribal culture.
Beware,
I'm Hun King
Atti la.
Horse Trappings of Huns,jrom
4th Century AD
The Huns were feared and
hated by other tribes, as they
had a reputation for cruelty. As
they moved towards Europe,
Anglo Saxon tribes like the
Goths and Visigoth fled before
them to Europe.
However, the Huns emerged
victorious, and conquered
large parts of Europe, Persia,
and India. The most famous
Hun is Attila. He was a great
m ilitary leader who led the
Huns to several victories over
the mighty Roman Empire.
The H u n s ' i nvasion of
E u rope is a sign ificant event
in world history as it m arked
the fi rst time E u rope was
invaded and conquered by
an Asian tribe .
Tell MeWhy
Why is the treatise titled 'Aryab­
hatiya' important to world history?
A
ryabhata was the first in the line
of great mathematician-astrono­
mers from the classical age of Indi­
Indian
and
an m athematics
astronomy. His most famous works
are the Aryabhatiya written when
he was 23 years old, and the Arya­
bhatasiddhanta.
Aryabhata was the first to deduce
that the Earth is round, and that it
rotates on its own axis, creating
day and night. He declared that the
Moon is dark and shines only
because of sunlight. Solar and
believed,
he
eclipses,
lunar
occurred because of the shadows
cast by the Earth and the Moon.
In mathematics Aryabhata's con­
tributions are invaluable. He gave
the value of pi, claim ing, for the first
time, that it was an approximation.
And he was the first mathematician
to give what later came to be called
the tables of Sines. All these formed
a part of his treatise titled Aryab­
hatiya. It also dealt with other top­
ics in mathematics, like geometry,
square root, cube root, and pro­
gression.
therefore,
Aryabhatiya
is,
undoubtedly one of the most im por­
tant treatises ever penned.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
Value of Zero
Aryabhata lived dur­
ing the Golden Age of
the Gupta Empire.
One of his most valu­
able contributions
was the concept of
'zero'.
9
Why was the exploration of
Greenland a significant event?
G
Greenland, and Erik the Red
colonised the southwestern
part of Greenland. He gave
Greenland its name, and ush­
ered in the country's Viking
era. The Vikings lived in
G reenland for almost 500
years, and then disappeared.
However, Erik the Red had
made Europe aware of the
existence of this awesome
land, and this has earned him
a place in the history of the
world.
reenland, which is located
between the Arctic and the
Atlantic Oceans, is the world's
largest island.
Almost 80 per cent of the
land mass is covered by an ice
cap and glaciers. Greenland
was first settled by a series of
nomadic tribal peoples.
In AD 986, Norwegian-born
Erik Thorvaldson, known as
Erik the Red, sailed west with
around 500 men and women,
This fish
domestic animals, and every­
may be green
thing else that was req uired to
in colour.
create a new settlement in a
new country.
He came to a land with an
inviting fjord landscape and
fertile green valleys, and decided to explore it. � his was _
_ _
10
What is the importance of the
Norman Conquest of Britain?
T
he Normans were a group
of people who invaded and
conq uered England in 1 066.
They came from Northern
France.
The first Norman king was
William the Conqueror who
claimed that the earlier ruler of
England, Edward, had prom­
ised him the throne before his
death .
The
Norman
Conquest
brought an important change
in English history for a number
of reasons. It linked England
more closely with France and
the continent of Europe, and
created one of the most pow­
erful monarchies of the times.
The Normans brought about
great changes in the English
language and culture. The feu­
dal system of France was
introduced and strengthened,
with the complex institutions
that existed in the earlier era.
This resulted in the future
development of a parliament,
and a protection of basic rights,
both of which are of supreme
importance today.
.
North Men to Norman
In AD 91 1 the French rulers allowed a group
of Vikings to settle in Normandy and they
were later known as North Men or Normans.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
11
Why does Angkor Wat represent a
landmark in world history?
A
_
.
�
. � .
-
Apt Name
The name Angkor
Wat means 'tem­
ple city' or city of
temples. 'Angkor
Wat was not the
original name giv­
en to the temple
when it was built
in the 12th century.
We have little
knowledge of how
this temple was
referred to during
the time of its use.
12
ngkO r Wat is a temple complex in
Cambodia. It is the largest religious
monument in the world, built by the
Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 1 2th
century, in honour of the Hindu god
Vishnu.
Covering an area of roughly 202
hectares, its layout recreates the
image of Mount Meru, a legendary
place in Hindu mythology that is
believed to lie beyond the Himalayas,
and be the home of the Gods.
Angkor Wat was shifted from H indu
to Buddhist use sometime around the
late 1 3th century. The temple is used
by Buddhists today. Angkor Wat is
depicted on Cambodia's national flag,
and is Cambodia's national monu­
ment as well . The temple represents
one of mankind's most astonishing
architectural achievements.
Tell MeWhy
What was the impact of Geng­
his Khan's Empire on world
history?
G
enghiS Khan founded the
Mongol Empire and became
one of the most feared con­
querors of his time. Between
1 206 and 1 227, the Mongol
leader conq uered nearly 3 1
million sq uare kilometres of
territory- more than any indi­
vidual in history.
Unlike many empire build­
ers, Genghis Khan embraced
the diversity of his newly con­
quered territories. He passed
laws declaring religious free­
dom for all, and even granted
tax exemptions to places of
worship.
One of his most important
achievements as a ruler,
involved the formation of a
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
service
courier
mounted
known as the 'Yam' . The
empire founded by Genghis
Khan modernised Mongolian
culture, and helped open con­
tact between East and West.
Genghis Khan is now seen
as a national hero, and the
founding father of Mongolia.
Wait a minute,
my signature is
a b i t lengthy.
Why was the signing of the Mag­
na Carta a historic event?
The Magna Carta was a docu­
ment signed by King John of Eng­
land in 1 21 5.
King John of England, raised
taxes, arrested people without
cause, punished those arrested
without a trial, seized land belong­
ing to the nobles, and was gener­
ally very unpopular. The nobles
finally rebelled against him, and
forced him to sign a document
called the Magna Carta.
The original Magna Carta was written on a
parchment made from dried sheepskin. It
was written in Latin, and later translated
into French. The Magna Carta was issued in
English only 300 years later.
14
Tell Me Why
The Magna Carta
was the first formal
document stating that
a king had to follow
the laws of the land,
and it guaranteed the
rights of individuals
against the wishes of
the king.
This meant people
couldn't be arrested,
imprisoned, or have
their possessions tak­
en away except by
the law of the land.
The Magna Carta
guaranteed the civil
rights of the individu­
al.
In this respect, it
was a historic docu­
ment, and it remains
to this day, a symbol
of liberty.
What is the significance of the travels
of Marco Polo?
M
arco Polo was one of the most
important and famous explorers and
writers from Europe.
He was born in Venice in 1 254 . In
1 266, Marco's father and uncle left for
China to start a trading business, leav­
ing Marco behind. Marco first ventured
to China when he was 1 7, travelling
with his father and uncle. The trip took
four years. He stayed for 1 7 years,
working as an advisor to Kublai Khan
and travelling through Asia.
Marco returned to Venice, and a few
years later he was arrested when Ven­
ice went to war with Genoa. It was dur­
ing his jail term that the book 'The
Travels of Marco Polo' was written.
Marco's book was very successful. It
proved to be an inspiration for many
other explorers, including Christopher
Columbus.
MILESTONES I N WORLD HISTORY
15
[
study the classical texts of
Ancient G reece and Rome and
use this knowledge to ach ieve
new heights of excel l e nce in their
fields. This period between the
14th and the 1 7th centu ries i s con­
sidered to be the bridge between
Rebirth
The word 'renais­
sance' is a French
one which means
'rebirth',
How did the Renais­
sance rewrite world his­
tory?
T
he 1 4th century saw
a return to classical
ideas and culture . Art­
ists , scientists, and
scholars
began
to
16
Tell MeWhy
the M i d d l e Ages and mod­
ern times, and is known as
the R e naissance.
It started as a cultural move­
ment in Italy, and later, spread
to all of Europe. The invention
of the Gutenberg printing
press in 1 450s is a milestone
which marks the beginning of
the Renaissance.
Ideas were able to be
spread q u icker and farther
because of the printing press.
The Renaissance was a time
of great beauty and art. Art­
ists l i ke Leonardo da Vinci
and Michelangelo created
great works of art during this
time. It was also a time of
creativity.
The Renaissance impacted
and shaped the future, and the
changes that it brought about
led to the modern era.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
What was the Black Death?
T
he Black Death was one of
the worst recorded catastro­
phes in world history. It was a
plague that swept through
Europe from 1 346 to 1 353, kill­
ing about 200 million people.
The Black Death arrived in
Europe by sea in October
1 343, when 1 2 ships docked at
the port of Messina after a long
journey through the Black Sea,
with many of the crew either
dead, or sick.
People called this disease
the Black Death, because
death was the inevitable result,
and the symptoms of the dis­
ease included black lumps
covering the body.
As a result of the Black
Death, the population of
Europe dropped drastically.
17
Why is the Inca Empire
i mportant in world histo­
ry?
T
he I ncas were a small
tribe that lived in the vil-
Son of the Sun
The Incas called their
empire Tawantin­
suyu, or the Land of
Four Corners. Their
king, or Sapa Inca,
was considered as
the Son of the Sun.
18
lage of Cuzco, high in the Andes
Mountains of South America. Over
the next 1 00 years, the Inca con­
q uered, tribe after tribe u ntil they
built an empire that stretched near­
ly the entire length of western
South America.
The Incas are famous for having
invented terrace farming to grow
food more easily on the sharp
mountain slopes. They stored their
food, and distributed it to all the
people in times of drought.
Most of the people were farmers,
but the I ncas also had specialised
professions like weavers who
made textiles, and musicians who
created new musical instruments.
There was an efficient central
government, a strong economy,
and a well trained army. The I ncas
have left a lasting legacy, and
many of their traditions live on in
the Andes Mountains.
Tell MeWhy
What is the importance of the
printing of the Gutenberg
Bible?
The invention of the Guten­
berg printing press is consid­
ered to be one of the most
important inventions of all
time.
The Gutenberg
press wants a
proofreader.
In 1 455, Gutenberg demon­
strated the power of the print­
ing press by selling copies of a
two-volume Bible, known as
the Gutenberg Bible. Each
page of the book had 42 lines.
The paper was handmade,
and each page contained a
watermark. At first, 1 80 copies
were made, most of them on
paper, although some were
printed on vellum, a kind of
parchment. The printed Bible
proved quite popular, and the
stock was quickly sold out.
The Gutenberg Bible was
the first major book printed
using mass produced movable
type. This made it significantly
cheaper than a handwritten
Bible. The Gutenberg Bible
signalled the start of the G uten­
berg Revolution, which led to
the Age of the Printed Books.
19
Why is Colu mbus' discovery
of the New World one of the
most historic events to have
ever taken place?
C
hristoP her
Columbus
was an Italian explorer who
wanted to find a q u icker
route to Asia to make it easi­
er for E u ropeans to obtain
spices, jewels, and silks for
trad e .
I n 1 4 92, K i n g Ferd i nand
and h i s wife Q ueen Isabella
of S p a i n gave Columbus
ships and a crew to find
such a route. Columbus
bel ieved that he cou ld reach
the East more q u ickly if he
set sail westward, and t h i s
is what he did .
On
1 2th October 1 492,
Col u m b u s l anded on a
s m a l l i s l a n d of the Baha20
m a s . H e named it S a n S a l ­
v a d o r . H e t h o u g h t he h ad
reached the I n d i e s , so he
c a l l ed the people I nd i an s .
C o l u m b u s went o n , and
contin ued h i s jou r n e y . He
l a n ded
on
Hispaniola,
w h i ch i s known tod ay as
t h e D o m i n i can R e p u b l i c
a n d H ai t i . H e a l s o l a nded
o n C u ba , which he b e l i eved
was the m a i n land of A s i a .
Columbus had actually dis­
covered the New World of the
Americas, though he never
realised it. The 'discovery' of
the New World by Ch risto­
pher Columbus changed the
history of the world complete. Iy. This had a number of
i mportant effects, the most
significant being the eventual
creation of the United States
of America.
TeLL Me W hy
What was the impact of Vasco
da Gama's discovery of India?
Vasco da Gama,
a Portu­
guese explorer, left Portugal
on 8th July, 1 497 to find a sea
route to India. He had four
ships, and 1 70 men .
Earlier, thousands of sailors
had lost their lives in attacks
and shipwrecks whi le trying to
reach India, but that did not
deter Vasco da Gama. He
sailed around the tip of Africa,
and because there was a mon­
soon wind, he reached I ndia in
less than one month.
The discovery of this route to
India meant that in order to
reach Asia, sailors would not
have to cross the Mediterrane­
an or Arabia, both of which
were considered to be very
dangerous at that time.
It allowed the Portuguese to
create a colonial empire in
Asia, and made it possible for
the Portuguese Empire to
improve its trade with the East.
Most important of all, Vasco
da Gama's voyage succeeded
in linking Europe and Asia for
the first time by an ocean
route. It connected the Atlantic
and the Indian Oceans, and
brought the West and the East
closer together.
What is the importance of the con­
quest of the Aztecs by the Span iards?
Hernan Cortes' Army
T
he Aztecs were a fierce tribe of war­
riors who settled in the Valley of Mexi­
co in the 1 3th century AD. They fought
endless wars with neighbouring tribes
until they dominated most of Central
America.
They established a great civilization,
and built spectacular cities. Their capi­
tal Tenochtitlan lay in the middle of a
lake, and became the hub of their vast
empire. Invaders led by the Spanish
conq uistador Hernan Cortes over­
threw the Aztecs by force, and cap­
tured Tenochtitlan in 1 521. They tore
down much of the city of Tenochtitlan,
and built their own city on the site
called Mexico City.
The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs
destroyed a great civilization. It made
Spain a world power, and eventually,
led to the creation of Mexico.
22
Mandatory
Education was
very important to
the Aztecs. Par­
ents were sup­
posed to teach
their children
properly. and
every child had to
attend school too.
Tell MeWhy
What did Magellan's voyage
around the world teach us?
F
erdinand Magellan, a Por­
tuguese sea captain, set out
from Spain in 1 51 9 with a fleet
of five ships to discover a west­
ern sea route to the Spice
Islands.
On his way, he discovered
what is now known as the
Strait of Magellan, and became
t he first European to cross the
Pacific Ocean .
The voyage was long and
dangerous, and only one ship
returned home three years lat­
er. Although it was laden with
valuable spices from the East,
only 1 8 of the fleet's original
crew of 270 returned with the
ship. Though Magellan himself
was killed during the journey,
his daring and ambitious voyMILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
age around the world provided
the Europeans with far more
than just spices.
European geographic knowl­
edge was expanded immeas­
Magellan's
by
urably
expedition.
Most important of all, Magel­
lan's voyage proved conclu­
sively that the Earth was round,
and not flat, as was believed
earlier.
Reached
the same pl ace.
A wasted
journey!
What was Copernican helio­
centrism?
C opernican heliocentrism is
a very big term for an astro­
nomical model developed by
Nicolaus
Copernicus,
an
astronomer,
mathematician,
and scientist born in the 15th
century.
This model changed how
we viewed the positioning of
the S u n , Earth, and other
celestial objects in space. It
has the Sun motionless at the
centre of the Universe, while
the Earth and other planets
rotate around it in circular
paths. Copernicus was not
the first astronomer to suggest
the Sun as the centre of the
Universe.
But, the ideas of earlier
astronomers were rejected
24
because of opposition from
the Church .
However, Copernicus' mod­
el of the universe was accept­
ed because his was more
accurate. He also had a better
formula for the calculation of
planet's positions at different
times of the year.
How many
yol ks are there
in this bul l's
eye?
Tell MeWhy
Many believe that the theory
and ideas put forward by
Copernicus heralded the mod­
ern era in astronomy.
Why is the Gregorian calendar
an i mportant mi lestone?
The G regorian calendar was
introduced in 1 582 by Pope
Gregory X I I I .
I t replaced the Julian calen­
dar which had been the official
calendar of Europe since it
was introduced by Julius Cae­
sar in 46 BC. But the Julian
calendar had an error.
The length of the Julian
year was exactly 365.25
days . However, the actual
MILESTONES I N WORLD HISTORY
time it takes for the earth to
go around the Sun once is
closer to 365.2425 days, or
about 365 days, 5 hours and
49 mi nutes. This difference
is about eleven minutes each
year.
To correct this, the calendar
was moved forward ten days in
1 582, and a new calendar, the
G regorian calendar, was intro­
duced.
The Gregorian calendar year
differs from the solar year by
only 26 seconds. This only
adds up to one day's differ­
ence every 3,323 years. The
G regorian calendar is the most
widely used calendar in the
world today.
25
Wow,
that pl anet
is a star!
Why were Galileo's astronomical
observations using a telescope a sci­
entific breakthrough?
G
alileo Galilei was an Italian
astronomer, physicist, mathemati­
cian, philosopher, and inventor who
lived during the Renaissance period.
Among his important inventions were
telescopes, a compass, and a ther­
mometer.
Galileo built on the work of others to
create telescopes that were far, far
more powerf ul than any of the exist-
Blind but Undeterred
Galileo was totally blind during the last
years of his life. However, that did not deter
him in any way from pursuing his passion
for science. It was while he was blind that
he designed a special mechanism for pen­
dulum clocks.
26
Tell MeWhy
ing telescopes of the times.
With these telescopes, Galileo
was able to observe the skies
in
ways
previously
not
achieved. They enabled him to
carefully observe, analyse,
and study the solar system.
In 1 61 0 Galileo observed
four objects surrounding Jupi­
ter that behaved unlike stars.
These turned out to be Jupi­
ter's four largest satellite
moons.
Galileo made many impor­
tant discoveries which he doc­
umented in various literary
works during his lifetime. Gali­
leo has been called the 'father
of observational astronomy',
the 'father of modern physics',
and the 'father of science'.
What was the impact of Wil­
liam H arvey's discovery of
blood circulation?
W
illiam Harvey, a 17'h cen­
tury English physician, was the
first person to describe in detail
how blood was pumped by the
heart, and circulated through­
out the body.
He showed that arteries and
veins form a complete circuit,
which starts and leads back to
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
the heart. He also described
how the heart's regular con­
tractions drive the flow of blood
around the whole body.
Harvey was able to make his
he
discoveries
because
ignored the medical text books
of the time. Instead, he dis­
sected animals, and made his
own observations and the
deductions.
Harvey's theories of blood
circulation drew considerable
criticism in the medical com­
munity at that time but ulti­
mately, they were proved to
be correct, and his contribu­
tions to modern medicine were
hailed.
27
Why is the Taj Mahal a historical
landmark?
T
he Taj Mahal in Agra is consid­
ered to be the finest example of
Mughal architecture, and a symbol
of I ndia's rich history. It was com­
missioned in 1 632 by Shah Jahan,
as a tomb for his beloved wife
Hurry up! I
want to build
a Taj here!
28
Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj
took 22 years to complete,
and has been hailed as
one of the wonders of the
world.
This monument is made of
gleaming white marble. It
has a large white dome
that is often called an
'onion dome' due to its
shape, which is surround­
ed by four smaller domes.
Around 20,000 people
worked round the clock for
more than two decades to
complete this marvel. A
thousand elephants were
used to transport the con­
struction materials from
different parts of I ndia,
and thirty different types of
precious and semi pre­
cious stones were used to
adorn it.
Tell MeWhy
Is it any wonder then that
Taj Mahal was designated as
a U N ESCO World Heritage
Site in 1 983? It is truly poetry
captured in stone, and an
everlasting tribute to immortal
love.
How did the contributions of
Sir Isaac Newton change the
world of science?
S
ir Isaac Newton was a bril­
liant English scientist who was
born in the 17th century. He
came up with numerous theo­
ries, and contributed ideas to
many different fields including
physics, mathematics, and
philosophy.
These theories completely
revolutionised the world of sci­
ence. One of his most famous
theories is the law of universal
gravitation. It describes the
attraction
gravitational
between different bodies with
mass like the Earth and the
Moon.
Newton was known to have
said that this theory of gravita­
tion was inspired by watching
an apple fall from a tree. He
also formulated the three laws
of motion that relate the forces
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
acting on a body to its motion.
One of his most famous publi­
cations is the ' P hilosophiae
Naturalis Principia Mathemati­
ca,' or Mathematical P rinciples
of Natural P hilosophy. It
proved to be groundbreaking,
in that it laid the fou ndation for
classical mechanics.
Newton was also the first
one to build a reflecting tele­
scope, to study the speed of
sound, and to observe spec­
trum of colours through a
p rism. The list of achieve­
ments of this legendary genius
is truly awe inspiring.
29
What is the significance of Samuel
Johnson's Dictionary?
S
amuel Johnson was an English
writer and critic, and one of the most
famous literary figures of the 1 8th
century. H is best-known work is his
'A Dictionary of the English Lan­
guage'.
The dictionary took eight years to
complete, and was published on 1 5th
April 1 755. It was not the first such
dictionary, but was certainly the
most important at that time.
I n Johnson's lifetime, five further
editions were published, and a sixth
came out just after his death. John­
son defined 43,000 words.
His dictionary was path breaking
in many ways and had a great influ­
ence on the style of later dictionar­
ies. Johnson sometimes explained
words in his dictionary in a way that
showed his opinions too.
30
Not the Only One
In 1 755, a new
Universal Etymolog­
ical Didionary
compiled by
Scott-Bailey was
also published. So,
Johnson's didionary
was not the only one
that was published
in that year - but it
was certainly the
most famous one.
Tell Me Why
Why was the Industrial Revo­
lution historically important?
T
he Industrial Revolution is
the name given to the enor­
mous changes that took place
in technology, farming, mining,
manufacturing and transporta­
tion from the middle of the 1 8th
century through to the middle
of the 1 9th century.
It began in Great Britain, and
spread to Western Europe,
North America, and around the
world. In the late 1 700s, manu­
facturing was often done in
people's homes, and societies
were largely rural.
The Industrial Revolution
changed all that. The mai n
thi ng that happened d u ri n g
t h e I n d u strial Revolution was
that m achi nes were devel­
oped that cou ld do many of
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
the jobs and tasks that had
previously been done by
people -or in some cases,
ani m als, such as horses.
There was a shift to pow­
special-pu rpose
ered ,
m achi nery, factories, and
m ass production. This period
saw the emphasis shift from
agriculture to industry, from
domestic i ndustry to facto­
ries, from water and wind
power, to steam engi nes.
There was a revolution in
transport and communication,
as railways and telegraph
became more popular.
There was a rapid growth of
towns, the population grew,
and i ncomes rose. There is no
doubt therefore, that the Indus­
t rial Revolution marks a major
turning point in the history of
mankind.
31
�
,
.
National Hero
Rousseau gained the rec­
ognition he deserved only
after his death. Sixteen
years after he passed
How did Rousseau's 'The
Social Contract' bring about
changes in society?
"
ean Jacques Rousseau
was a great French philoso­
pher. His most famous work is
'The Social Contract' , which
was written in 1 762.
In this book, Rousseau
argued against the prevailing
belief that kings had absolute
powers by divine right. He
asserted that it is the people
who are sovereign, and that
only the people have the right
to make laws.
Rousseau's ideas about the
'social contract' were very
important to the writers of the
American Declaration of Inde32
away. he was declared a
national hero in France.
pendence. His political ideas
were championed by leaders
of the French Revolution, and
played an important role in trig­
gering the Revolutionary War.
Yes,
I agree. The
peop l e are
sovereign.
Tell M eWhy
What is the importance of the
Fi rst Battle of Panipat?
T
he First Battle of Pani pat
is a historic one, as it marks
the begi n ni n g of the M ug h al
dynasty i n India. It was
fought between the last ruler
of L od hi dynasty, I brah i m
Lod h i , and the ruler o f Kabu l ,
Babur.
By 1 526, Babur had cap­
tured the whole of Punjab, and
then he proceeded towards
Delhi to meet Ibrahim Lodhi.
Ibrahim Lodhi had a much
larger army, with formidable
war elephants.
Babur's army was smaller,
but he had guns which he
used to scare the elephants.
Thanks to Babur's skilful strat­
egy, his much smaller force
was able to defeat Lodhi's
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
mighty army. I n addition to
heralding the beginning of the
Mughal era in Indian history,
the victory in the battle made
Babur the master of Delhi and
Agra, the two political centres
of northern India. The treas­
u res that Babur came to
acquire from the royal treas­
u ry of Delhi made h i m finan­
cially very strong.
Another reason for the impor­
tance of this battle is the exten­
sive use of gun powder,
matchlocks, and field artillery
for the first time in the I ndian
sub-continent.
All i n all, the first battle of
Panipat, pulled curtains on the
already crumbling Delhi SUl­
tanate. The 300 year rule of
the Sultanate ended, and a
new era in the history of medi­
eval India began.
33
Why was James Watt's steam
engine a milestone in world
history?
J
ames Watt was a Scottish
engineer and inventor, and
one of the most important con­
tributors to the Industrial Revo­
lution.
He is best known for making
major improvements to the
steam engine. The steam
engine was actually built for
the first time in 1 698 by Thom­
as Savery, but it was Watt who
improved it in the 1 800s, and
made it really useful. In Watt's
steam engine, steam output
and engine speed were con­
trolled.
Watt's steam engine offered
a powerful source that could
be located almost anywhere.
In the late 1 760s, Watt worked
with the inventor John Roe­
buck, and an engineer, Mat­
thew Boulton. They made
steam engines for canals, coal
mines, and mills.
From the mid 1 800s to the
early 1 900s, steam engines
powered machines, ran facto­
ries, trains, and even huge
ships.
Watt's steam engine domi­
nated industry and transporta­
tion for 1 50 years.
In 1 698, Thomas Savery, an engineer and
inventor, patented a machine that could
effectively draw water from flooded mines
using stea� pressure. This was the first
steam engine. In 1 7 1 2, another English­
man, Thomas Newcomen, developed an improved version
that was used for the next 50 years or so, by mine owners.
34
Tell MeWhy
What was the impact of the US
Declaration of Independence
on the world?
The
Declaration of I nde­
pendence was a document
declaring the US to be inde­
pendent of the British Crown. It
was signed on July 4th, 1 776,
by the representatives of the
thirteen colonies. Thomas Jef­
ferson was the main architect
of this document.
These colonies had been at
war with Britain for over a year,
a nd after the document was
signed, they became the Unit­
ed States of America. The
Declaration of Independence
states that the authority to gov­
er n belongs to the people, that
all people are created equal
and have rights to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
The Declaration of I nde­
pendence laid the fou ndation
for the United States of Ameri­
ca, and had great impact on
world history. It i nspired the
freedom movement in many
countries that were under the
colonial rule of European
countries.
Fr"
The Legend
Thomas Jefferson died on
July 4, 1 826, the 50th
anniversary of the vote to
approve the Declaration of
Independence.
35
Waiti ng
for another
revol ution . .
How did the French Revolution change
history?
T
he French Revolution took place
from 1 789 t0 1 799. The revolution broke
out because of the misrule of the King
Louis XVI.
By 1 787, the country was nearly bank­
rupt and the poor people were dying of
starvation, while the nobles and the
king were living a life of idle lUxury. The
French Revolution began on July 1 4th,
1 789 when the people of France
stormed the Bastille in Paris - a royal
fort that had been converted to a prison.
A TaLe to Tell
One of the most famous books about the
French Revolution is 'A Tale of Two Cities'. It
was written by Charles Dickens, and is con­
sidered one of the greatest literary works of
all time.
36
Tell MeWhy
The revolution lasted until 1 799,
resulting in the abolition of the
French royal family, a change in
government, further armed con­
flicts with other countries in Europe,
the execution of King Louis XVI
and his Queen Marie Antoinette,
and the beginning of Napoleon
Bonaparte's reign in France.
The French Revolution profound­
ly altered the course of world his­
tory, and its ideals of Liberty,
Equality and Fraternity triggered
the decline of monarchies and the
rise of republics and liberal democ­
racies not just in Europe but in oth­
er continents as well.
Why is 'A Vindication of the Rights
of Woman' considered to be a
milestone in world history?
'A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman' is a book written by Mary
Wollstonecraft in 1 792. It is a mile­
stone in that it is one the first books
on feminism, which is a movement
to uphold the rights of women. Till
then, many people believed that
here was no need to educate wom­
en.
I n this book, Mary Wollstonecraft
pointed out that women's educa­
tion is of national i mportance
because it is women who usually
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
educate their children.
She says that an educat­
ed woman can also be
companions to their hus­
bands, rather than just
uneducated wives.
Wollstonecraft did not
see women as simply
ornaments to society, or
property to be traded in
marriage. She argued that
women are equal to men
in every way, and deserve
the same basic rights men
have.
The ideas in her book
were truly revolutionary at
the time, and caused tre­
mendous controversy.
37
Edward Jenner had many different interests.
He was a keen natural historian, and carried
out research on the habits of the cuckoo bird.
His findings on this subject were published in 1 788.
Don't worry,
i t's j ust
sma l l pox
vi rus.
How did Edward Jenner's dis­
covery of the smallpox vaccine
change the world?
For centuries, smallpox was a
dreaded disease. It was Edward
Jenner who discovered a way to
prevent people from catching
smallpox. Jenner realised that
giving people a mild dose of the
disease could protect them from
.getting it in a severe form.
In 1 796, Jenner conducted his
first experiment on a boy called
James Phipps, and it was a suc­
cess.
38
Tell MeWhy
Why was the Battle of Water­
loo a historic event?
he Battle of Waterloo is one
of the world's most famous
battles. It was fought on 1 8th
June 1 8 1 5, at Waterloo, in pre­
sent day Belgium.
The overall commanders at
Waterloo were two of the
greatest generals of all time.
They were Britain's D u ke of
Wellington who had never lost
a battle in 1 2 years of war, and
the French Emperor Napole­
on, who had in his time,
crushed every army in Europe
except Britain's. But, Waterloo
was not just a British victory.
The Duke of Wellington
would have been hard pressed
to win without the timely help
of Marshal Blucher's Prus­
sians. Besides, two-thirds of
his own army was made up of
allies from the rest of Europe.
It was a bloody battle, with
heavy causalties on both
sides. Waterloo was the battle
that finally and decisively end­
ed the ambition of the French
Emperor Napoleon to domi­
nate Europe. It brought to an
end a terrible war that had
raged on and off for more than
20 years, and ushered in a
hundred years of relative
peace, until 1 91 4 .
This is how Jenner's vacci­
nation treatment was born.
Jenner's work is regarded as
the foundation of immunology.
His was the first successful
vaccine ever to be developed,
and remains the only effective
preventive for smallpox.
T
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
39
This too was
a camera? Hard
to bel ieve.
The very first perma­
nent photograph ever
taken shows the view
from the upstairs win­
dow of Niepce's home.
It is rather fuzzy. The
What is the significance of Nice­
phore Niepce in the world of pho­
tography?
The French inventor Nicephore
Niepce loved nature but was
unskilled at drawing. He sought a
way to collect images from nature.
In 1 826-27, he captured the view
40
photograph was lost
for almost 50 years
before historians
rediscovered it.
from his workroom window
using light-sensitive chemi­
cals on a piece of metal.
This was the first perm aTell Me Why
nent photograph. Niepce
formed a partnership with Lou­
is Daguerre who helped him
refine the process so that the
photographs could be sharper
and clearer.
Niepce will always be
remembered in history as the
man who made permanent
photographs a reality.
Why was the abolition of slav­
ery in the British Empire a
great step forward for man­
kind?
In 1833, slavery was abol­
ished from the British Empire
by an act called The Slavery
Abolition Act.
Slavery had existed in a
number of British colonies,
principally in the plantations in
the West Indies. This act gave
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
all slaves in the British Empire
their freedom. The British gov­
ernment paid compensation to
the slave owners. The amount
that the plantation owners
received, depended on the
number of slaves that they
had.
This act was an important
step forward for mankind. It
paved the way for the total
abolition of slavery all over the
world.
Slavery was an evil that had
degraded humanity for centu­
ries. Slaves were treated even
more harshly than animals,
and they had no rights whatso­
ever.
The abolition of slavery was
a significant victory for the
principle that all men are born
equal, and that no man is the
personal property of another.
41
Dr. Crawford Long
INTRODUCTION OF
ANAESTHESIA
pain. Surgeons employed all kinds
of means, from using opium to
alcohol to lessen the pain, without
much success.
L ater, the discovery and develop­
ment of anaesthesia was a turning
point for the world of surgery.
Dr. Crawford Long was a pioneer
in this field. He blazed a new path
when he administered sulfuric
ether by inhalation to a man named
James Venable, in order to remove
a tumour from the man's neck. The
Doctor,
give me alcohol,
not anaes thesia.
Why is Long's introduc­
tion of ether in surgery
considered a medical
breakthrough?
I n ancient times, a patient
undergoing surgery of any
kind suffered excruciating
i"�1'1
��
�
, �,
•. ... \
. �11i
:
STAR FACT
.
�C)ll1.
Pain
Go Away
A patient who is given general anaesthesia
before surgery will not feel any pain during
the procedure. Anaesthesia can also cause
amnesia, so that even if the patient wakes up
during surgery, he will not remember anything about it
afterwards.
42
Tell MeWhy
young man did not feel any
pain, but Long did not publish
his findings at once, as he
wanted to be sure of his dis­
covery. In 1 849, he presented
his findings to the Medical Col­
lege of Georgia, and was
hailed for this breakthrough in
ensuring pain-free surgery.
Why was 1853 a historic year
for I ndia?
A pril 1 6th , 1 853 was a histor­
ic day in India. It was on this
day that the first passenger
train service was introduced
between Bori Bunder, Bom­
bay, and Thane.
The train with fourteen rail­
way carriages, carrying around
400 guests, left Bori Bunder at
3:30 pm that day. It was drawn
by three engines, and covered
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
a total distance of 33 km in 57
minutes. Railways were devel­
oped in India first by the British
East India Company, and lat­
er, by the British Government
mainly to transport troops for
their wars, and secondly, to
transport cotton for export to
mills in UK.
Since then, the I ndian Rail­
way has grown to become the
largest rail network in Asia
today. It is also the world's
second largest network oper­
ated under a single manage­
ment.
Indian Railway has 1 1 5,000
km of track length, and runs
1 2,617 trains to carry over 23
million passengers daily, con­
necting more than 7, 1 1 2 sta­
tions. It is indeed amazing to
think it all began as a single
train service.
43
Use this
l fa t-'free'
\. rifle.
What is the significance of I ndia's first
war of i ndependence?
I
ndia's first war of independence, has
great significance, for it marked the first
step in India's struggle for freedom from
British rule.
There was general unrest and discon­
tent among the Indian people against
the policies of the English East India
Company. The last straw was the use
of ani mal grease on the cartridges of the
company's newly acquired rifles. While
loading the rifles, the soldiers had to bite
off the end of the cartridge, greased with
cow or pig fat.
Indians against Indians
During the first war of independence, many
Indian kings were on the side of the British.
They fought against the soldiers of the British
Army who were their own countrymen.
44
Tell MeWhy
This outraged both the Hin­
du and Muslim soldiers, for it
went against their religious
teachings. On May 1 Qth 1 857,
the Indian soldiers in Meerut
protested. Although the upris­
Ing was quelled by the British,
It set the stage for India's Free­
dom Movement against the
British Rule.
Why is the book 'On the origin
of Species,' a pathbreaking
one?
O
n the Origin of Species, by
Charles Darwin is a path
breaking book published in
1 859.
D arwin changed the way
humans viewed themselves,
and the world around them,
through his ideas on evolution
and natural selection.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
Darwin, an English natural­
ist, put forward the idea that all
species of life have evolved
over time from common ances­
tors.
During this process, favour­
able traits become more com­
mon in successive generations
of living things. At the same
traits
unfavourable
ti me
become less com mon. This is
known as the Theory of Natu­
ral Selection.
D arwin presented compel­
ling
evidence
from
his
which
research
detai led
i ncluded a five year voyage
on the HMS Beagle. On this
voyage, Darwi n visited eco­
logically diverse regions like
the Galapagos Islands. This
book is considered to be a
landmark i n the field of evolu­
tionary biology.
45
How did Gregor Mendel's Laws of
Inheritance influence scientific
thought?
G
Wow! These
p l a n ts are look
a l i kes.
regor Mendel was a 1 9th cen­
tury monk and brilliant scientist.
He was interested in heredity, and
through his experi ments, found
that certain traits were inherited
following specific patterns.
Mendel experi mented with
peas in his garden , and discov­
ered that living thi ngs pass traits
to the next generation by some­
thi ng which remains unchanged
i n successive generations of an
organism.
He found that traits could skip a
generation - seemi ngly lost traits
could appear agai n in another
generation - and he called these
recessive traits. Mendel identified
recessive and dominant traits
which pass from parents to off­
spring. The traits that Mendel
Success B looms fro m Failure
Mendel joined a monastery when he failed
in physics at the university, and could not
study further. It was as a monk that he car­
ried out his experiments on almost 30,000
pea plants over 8 years of research, to
make some pathbreaking discoveries.
46
TeLL Me Why
described are known as
genes' today. Mendel's work
only made a big impact in
1 900, 1 6 years after his death,
and 34 years after he first pub­
lished it. Today, he is hon­
oured as the Father of
Genetics.
Why is the end of the shogun
rule i n Japan an important
milestone?
The
shogun was Japan's
supreme military leader. He
was awarded the title by the
emperor.
From 1 1 92 through 1 867,
Japan was ruled by a series of
shoguns. The role of the
emperor was ceremonial, simi­
lar to the position of the Japa­
nese monarchy after second
world war. Also known as the
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
Edo period, the shoguns ush­
ered in a time of internal peace,
political stability and economic
growth. The shog u ns imposed
a strict class system, with the
samurai or warriors at the top,
followed by farmers, artisans,
and merchants.
Tokugawa shogunate was
the last shogunate in Japan.
D u ring its final 30 years in
power, the Tokugawa shogu­
nate had to contend with peas­
ant uprisings and samurai
unrest, as well as with financial
problems. In addition, there
was the growing threat from
Western powers. As a result,
many demanded the restora­
tion of direct imperial rule. The
last Shogun Yoshinobu, was
overthrown in 1 867. This
marked the end of the shogun
rule in Japan.
47
Why was the opening of the Suez
Canal a historic event?
T
------
Win One, Lose One
Ferdinand de
lesseps was the
developer of the
Suez Canal which
proved to be a
grand success. He
also dreamt of
building a canal
across the Isthmus
of Panama. Work
began in 1 881, but
Ferdinand failed to
achieve his second
dream.
48
he Suez Canal is a man-made
canal in Egypt, connecting the Medi­
terranean Sea to the Red Sea, through
the Isthmus of Suez.
Earlier, ships sailing between
Europe and South Asia had to make a
long and dangerous voyage all the
way around the tip of Africa. The
opening of the Suez Canal in 1 869,
changed all that.
Ships could now go directly between
the Mediterranean and Red Sea
through the canal. This 1 93 km long
�:eh�2)
cut.
...-
waterway reduced the sea
voyage distance between
Europe and South Asia by
7000 km.
The Suez is the longest
canal in the world without
locks- and the safest too. To
sum up, the Suez Canal is the
shortest sea link between the
east and the west, due to its
unique geographic location. Its
opening gave a tremendous
boost to the maritime industry
and world trade.
How did the invention of the
telephone by Alexander Gra­
ham Bell change the world?
A
lexander Graham Bell, is
best known as the inventor of
he telephone in 1 876. He will
be remembered for all time as
having been the first person to
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
design and patent a practical
device for transmitti ng the
human voice by means of an
electric current.
The telephone is considered
by many to be the most impor­
tant invention of modern times.
It offers a fast, cheap mode of
communication. It has reduced
the concept of distances when you can contact a per­
son
living thousands of
kilometres away i n just a few
seconds, the distance does
not seem very far.
The telephone has i ncreased
socialization and interaction
between people, and made
possible the introduction of the
Internet.
In fact, if the world is a global
village today, it is the tele­
phone that has played a major
role in making it so.
49
Thomas Edison
Why is it said that the i nvention of the elec­
tric bulb lit up the world itself?
B efore the invention of the electric bulb,
people used candles or oil lamps, which
were smoky and messy.
Though the invention of the light bulb is
associated with Thomas Edi so n , the fact
that i s Thomas Edison did not invent it.
Several designs for the light bulb had
been created before.
Sir Joseph Swan of England, and
Thomas Edison both i nvented the fi rst
electric i ncandescent lamps around the
1 870s. By creating a vacu u m i nside the
b u l b , fi ndi ng the right fi lament to use,
they were able to ach ieve a l i g ht bulb
that l asted for many hours.
Edi so n 's i nvention was the most practi­
cal one. Edison also established a power
g rid system, which could generate elec­
tricity, and deliver it to homes through a
network of wires. He subsequently started
the Edison Electric L ight Company in
50
Tell M eWhy
October of 1 878. F rom then
on, there was no looking
back, as new and better light­
ing systems appeared on the
market, to light up not just
homes, but also offices,
roads, and institutions. The
list seems never ending.
Thanks to Thomas Edison
and his electric light bulb, i n
every corner of the world,
darkness is being banished
with the glow of light.
Why is television considered a
m ixed blessing?
Television is a way of send­
ing and receiving moving
i mages and sounds over wires,
or through the air, by electrical
Impulses.
Television's
development
depended
upon
previous
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
inventions, and more than one
person contributed to the
development of television, as
we know it today.
In England, i n the 1 920s,
John Bai rd, a Scottish amateur
scientist, successfully trans­
mitted the first TV picture, after
years of work.
Television has been praised
for its ability to transmit visual
i mages with accompanying
sound to entertain, educate,
and to provide a sense of truth.
On the other hand, because
of television, children have wit­
nessed war, murder, and vio­
lence first hand, so television
can actually be considered a
mixed blessing.
In any case, television has
sparked revolutions in enter­
tainment, journalism, and social
behaviour that are still ongoing.
51
What was the impact of the
Women's Suffrage Movement
in New Zealand?
The term women's suffrage
refers to the right of women to
vote and to hold an elected
office.
Women did not always have
the right to vote. Up unti l the
1 900s, most democracies
throughout history only allowed
men to vote.
I n the l ater 1 9th centu ry,
some women began to chal­
lenge thi s narrow view of
the world. New opportu ni ­
ties were ope n i ng u p for
women and gi rls, and soo n ,
atte ntion was focused o n
wome n 's legal and political
ri g hts too .
I n Europe, the British colo­
nies and the United States a
52
movement known as the Wom­
en's
Suffrage
Movement
began. The movement gained
momentum, and finally, on 1 9th
September 1 893, women were
granted the right to vote in
New Zealand by an electoral
bi ll.
New Zealand t h u s became
the fi rst cou ntry to take this
bi g step forward for wom e n .
celebrated
S u ffragi sts
t h roughout the cou ntry, and
congrat u l ati o n s pou red in
from suffrage campaig ners
i n Britai n , A u strali a, the
U n ited States , and el se­
where .
New Zealand's achievement
. gave new hope and life to all
women struggling for this right,
and paved the way for their
victory in other countries of the
world too.
Tell Me Why
What i s the contribution of the Lumi­
ere Brothers to the world of entertain­
ment?
The Lumiere Brothers, Auguste and
�, The First Film
The Lumiere
Brothers shot
footage of workers
at their factory
leaving at the end
of the day. They
showed the result­
ing film at an
industrial meeting
in Paris in March
1 895. This is con­
sidered to be the
very first motion
picture.
Louis, were French inventors who are
credited with the invention of the film
camera.
A three-in-one device that could
record, develop, and project motion
pictures, the Cinematographe as it
was called, would go down in history
as the first viable film camera. The
Oops.
This wireless
set is sound
l ess.
How did Marconi change the way the world
communicated?
M
arconi was an Italian scientist and inven­
tor. He built a wireless telegraph, which sent
messages through the air for the first time. At
about the age of 20, Marconi became inter­
ested in radio waves.
Radio waves are streams of energy that car­
ry electric signals through the air. Marconi
thought that radio waves could be used in
communication. He experi mented with radio
waves and the telegraph.
The telegraph used at the time, could send
and receive coded messages in the form of
electric signals. However, it needed wi res to
Lumiere Brothers showed their theatre, thinking that it was a
film at private screenings real train! Thei r pioneering
throughout 1 895. At the first , motion picture camera, the
public screening, it is said that Cinematographe, will remain
when people watching the film the trailblazer for an exciting
saw a train arriving at a station, new form of art and entertain­
many of them ran out of the ment called cinema!
54
Tell MeWhy
do so. Marconi created a tele­
graph that could send electric
signals without wires, using
radio waves.
In 1 901 , Marconi sent radio
signals across the Atlantic
Ocean for the fi rst ti me. Mar­
coni became known as the
'father of the radio,' because
his innovative work in radio
transmissions over long dis­
tances changed the way the
world communicated.
Why are the First Modern
Olympic Games considered to
be a landmark in the history of
sports?
The
first known Olympic
Games was recorded i n
aro und 776 BC in Olympia,
Greece. They were celebrated
u ntil AD 396. It was a French
M ILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
nobleman, the Baron de Cou­
bertin, who revived the idea of
the Olympic Games i n modern
times. He managed to bring
together representatives of
different countries in Paris, in
1 894, and the Olympic Move­
ment was begun.
The first modern Olympic
Games were held in Athens in
1 896. It was the host Greece
that won the most medals in
these Games 46 i n all.
Since then, the Games have
been held every four years.
They have played an impor­
tant role in building a peaceful
and better world by educating
youth through sport, practised
without discri mination of any
The Olympic Games
kind.
promote the Olympic spirit,
which brings people from all
over the world together.
-
55
What is the historic i mpor­
tance of the book 'The Inter­
pretation of Dreams'?
We all have dreams while
sleeping, but when we wake
up, we generally forget about
them. However, in 1 899, Sig­
mund Freud, a psychoanalyst,
believed that our dreams have
meanings, and published a
book analysing them . Its name
was 'The Interpretation of
D reams'.
It contained some very inter­
esting theories about our
dreams. Always a vivid dream­
er, Freud had by this time also
noticed the i mpact of dreams
on his patients.
According to Freud, every
dream represents a wish fulfil­
ment or fantasy that is not
accessible when one is awake.
56
'The Interpretation of Dreams'
is a fascinating text revealing
Freud's unique talent as a writ­
er and ambitious theorist.
The book is very important,
because it introduced many
key concepts that would later
become central to the theory of
psychoanalysis.
WINGS FOR HUMAN
Why was the flight at Kitty Hawk a his­
toric one?
Orville Wright
M
an has always dreamt of being
able to fly, but this dream became a
reality only because of the Wright
Brothers, Orville and Wilbur. They were
the first to make a successful flight with
humans on board, in an aircraft that
was powered by an engine, and was
heavier than air.
The Wright Brothers believed that
their fascination with flight began when
their father brought home a toy helicop­
ter when they were children. Their first
flight using an engine was on 1 7th
December, 1 903 at Kitty Hawk Island,
USA.
The plane had a wingspan of 40.3
feet. It was Orville who flew the plane.
The flight lasted 1 2 seconds, and the
plane flew for 1 20 feet. It was a historic
moment when the aircraft landed safely
after this maiden flight.
MIL ESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
Wilbur Wright
With this achieve­
ment,
the
Wright
Brothers had proved
that Man can fly, and
successfully
laid
down the fundamen­
tal principles of air­
craft design that are
still relevant to this
day.
57
Why did Einstein's Theory of
Relativity stun the world of
science?
A lbert Einstein was a scien­
tific genius who was born in
1 879 in Germany. Einstein
made many contributions to
the field of theoretical physics.
He revised Newton's laws of
gravity to make them more
accurate.
We call what he developed
the theory of relativity. It is
actually two theories. The first
is called Special Theory of Rel­
ativity. This theory states that it
is impossible to determine
whether or not you are moving
unless you can look at another
object.
The second is the General
Theory of Relativity. It is the
one which redefined the laws
58
of gravity. The theory explained
how time and distance may
change due to the 'relative' or
different speed of the object
and the observer.
It broke new ground in the
world of science. In 1 921 , Ein­
stein won the Nobel Prize in
Physics for his services to
Theoretical Physics.
----
Science
has to energise
the mass.
Tell MeWhy
What was the impact of the
invention of plastic?
P lastic is not the i nvention
of one person. The fathers of
modern plastics were chem­
ists Leo Baekeland , Alexan­
der Parkes, Brandenberger,
Roy Plunkett and D aniel Fox.
Today, plastic is made in
factories
using
chemicals
found in oil and natural gas. It
is a very versatile material . It
can be coloured by adding
dyes.
Hot plastic can be poured
into moulds in the shapes of
toys and other things. It can
also be squeezed through
holes to make pipes, hoses,
and bags.
Because it is so light, many
parts of aeroplanes and cars
are made from plastic. It can
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
be made into thin threads and
then woven to make material
that is used to make clothing
such as raincoats and water­
proof jackets.
These plastic materials are
called synthetic. Since the
appearance of plastic more
than 1 50 years ago, modern
industry has grown rapidly.
Plastics have played a key
role in the modern way of life,
in the creation of thousands of
new articles and technologies.
We now use about 20 times
more plastic than we did 50
years ago.
However, we must remem­
ber that plastics harm the envi­
ronment because it is not
degradable. Therefore, it is
important that we reuse and
recycle plastic as much as
possible.
59
� What is the significance of the
I Rutherford model of atom?
l
e know that the atom is
W
th
e smallest particle of an ele­
n,ent still having the same
chemical properties of the ele­
ll'Ient.
However, by 1 91 1 , it was
d iscovered that the atom was
Ihade up of even smaller, or
�ubatomic particles called pro­
tons and electrons. But it was
not clear how these protons
and electrons were arranged
within the atom. It was believed
that they were evenly spread
out, but this was proved incor­
rect.
It was Ernest Rutherford,
who first presented a planetary
model of the atom. This put all
the protons in the nucleus with
the electrons orbiting around
the nucleus, like the planets
revolve around the Sun.
Si r,
this is my
model of a tom.
So simple,
isn' t i t?
The Rutherford model of
atom was simplified in a
well known symbol that has
became popular as a sym­
bol for atoms and atomic
energy i n general.
Aptly dubbed the 'Father
of the N uclear Age', Ruther­
ford received the Nobel
Prize for Chemistry in 1 908.
Why was Henry Ford's
moving assembly line a
revolutionary step in the
world of manufacturing?
P
rior to 1 91 3, Ford and
other
every
virtually
assembled
auto maker
whole cars with a team of
workers. Each team worked
tog ether to complete a sin­
g le car, usually from start to
fini sh.
MIL ESTONES I N WORLD HISTORY
I n 1 91 3, Henry Ford installed
the first moving assembly line for
the mass production of an entire
automobile. Ford had been trying
to increase his factories' produc­
tivity for years. To streamline the
process, Ford divided the proce­
dure into 84 steps, and trained
each of his workers to do just one
step.
L ater, he i nstalled moving lines
for bits and pieces of the manu­
facturing process. Finally in
December 1 91 3, he introduced
the moving-chassis assembly
line.
Ford's i nnovation reduced the
time it took to build a car from
more than 1 2 hours, to two hours
and 30 minutes. This enabled
the company to bri ng out more
cars faster. It also cut down
costs, so the cars could be sold
cheaper.
61
What was the i mpact of World
War I on the world?
W
orld War I was a global
war fought in Europe. It began
in 1 91 4 and lasted for four
years till 1 9 1 8.
It was fought between the
Allied Powers and the Central
Powers. The main members
of the Allied Powers were
France, Russia, and Britain.
The United States also fought
on the side of the Allies after
1 91 7.
The mai n members of the
Central Powers were Ger­
many, Austria- H u ngary, the
Ottoman Empi re, and Bul­
garia.
There were many reasons
for the war, but the immediate
cause was the assassination
of Austria's Archduke Ferdi62
nand by a Serbian youth Gavri10 Princip.
More than 65 million soldiers
fought in the war in the battle­
fields of Europe. The Allies
eventually won, but the price
was heavy indeed.
It is estimated that by the
time the war was over, over 9
million soldiers had been killed,
and another 21 million wound­
ed.
The member countries of the
Central Powers were forced to
sign armistice agreements one
by one, and Germany was
severely punished under the
Treaty of Versailles.
Today,
many
historians
believe that it was the harsh
treatment given to Germany
that planted the seeds of the
next World War, that is World
War I I .
TeLL Me Why
A l l the way
from Spain to
attack you ...
What was the effect of the Spanish flu
on the world?
B
etween 1 9 1 8 and 1 91 9, a devastat­
ing epidemic, the deadliest i n modern
history, infected an estimated 500 mil­
lion people worldwide. It was called the
Spanish flu.
Influenza, or flu, is a virus that attacks
the respiratory system . Many believed
that the Spanish flu was caused by the
use of poison gas in World War I.
We now know it developed in ani­
mals and bi rds, and then spread to
people. The 1 9 1 8 flu was fi rst observed
i n Europe.
Spanish Fi rst
Spanish Flu got its name because Spain
was one of the first countries to be report­
ed as being hit by the disease.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
63
What were the conse­
quences of the Russian
Revolution?
T
he term Russian Rev­
olution actually refers to
two separate revolutions
in 1 91 7, which had a far
Move
forward . .•
64
reaching impact on the history of the
world.
The first revolution was in Febru­
ary, and the second in October of
1 91 7. Prior to the revolution, the
Russian monarchy had become pro­
gressively weaker, and increasingly
insensitive to the hardships of the
people. The emperor, Czar Nicolas
I I , used extremely severe measures
to put down resistance movements­
with little effect.
Vladimir Leni n , the leader and
motivating force behind the revolu­
tion, rose to prominence as the most
powerful figure in Russia. Though
the revolution was successful in
overthrowing the monarchy, the new
government, led by Vladimir Lenin,
would solidify its power only after
five years of civil war, which ended
in 1 922.
After the Russian Revolution, Rus­
sia withdrew from World War I . The
Tell MeWh�
revol ution had far reaching
consequences. It brought
about the overthrow of the
monarchy, and the transfor­
mation of the Russian
Empire into the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics.
It also saw the establish­
ment of the world's first com­
munist state and opened the
door for Russia to fully enter
the industrial age.
Why was the Jalianwala
Bagh massacre one of the
turning points in history?
T
he Jalianwala Bagh Mas­
sacre was an important i nci­
dent in the history of the
Indian freedom movement
during the British Rule.
On April 1 3th 1 9 1 9, thou­
sands of unarmed, non vio­
lent protestors gathered i n
the Jalianwala Bagh of
Amritsar, to celebrate a fes­
tival in spite of an order from
the British forbidding them
to do so.
A British officer, Colonel
Reginald Dyer, came to the
place with fifty riflemen, and
without
any
warning,
ordered them to shoot at the
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
crowd. The shooting conti nued
for ten minutes, and about 1 650
rounds were fired. According to
the government data, about 379
people were killed.
However, some private data
showed that the number was
more than 1 000, including chil­
dren and women. The incident
stirred the whole nation.
Many more people joined the
I ndian freedom movement after
the massacre. Rabi ndranath
Tagore even gave up his knight­
hood in protest.
This horrific event sounded the
death knell for the British rule in
India, and Jalianwala Bagh has
become a place of national pil­
grimage today.
65
What was the impact of fascism?
B enito Mussolini, the Prime Minister of
Nothing
against the
s tate.
66
Italy from 1 922 to 1 943, was the founder of
a political system known as fascism.
In this form of government, the nation as
a whole is considered to be more impor­
tant than the individual, and all power rests
with the state.
Mussolini became the dictator of Italy,
and at first, many Italians were happy with
Mussolini's rise to power. Order was
restored, and the Fascists began pro­
grammes of public works. Mussolini helped
landowners and industry leaders, and con­
vinced the common people that the coun­
try was finally being run efficiently.
However, fascism became unpopular
before long when parties that opposed it
were outlawed. Workers were forbidden to
go on strike.
Mussolini had designed his system to
cater to the needs of the state, not of indi­
viduals. In the end, it served neither.
Tell MeWhy
Why is the Big Bang theory
considered the greatest
scientific achievement of
the 20th century?
G
eorges Lemaitre, a Bel­
gian astronomer is usually
cosmic microwave
background radiation
was discovered.
The discovery was
crucial, as it supported
the Big Bang Model.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
credited with the Big Bang theory
of how the U niverse began.
Today, most astronomers agree
with this theory that the Universe
began in a Big Bang, about 1 3.8
billion years ago. At that time, the
entire Universe was i nside a bub­
ble that was thousands of times
smaller than a pinhead. It was
hotter and denser than anything
we can i magine.
Then, it suddenly exploded. The
U niverse that we know was born.
Time, space, and matter all began
with the Big Bang. In a fraction of
a second, the U niverse grew from
smaller than a single atom , to big­
ger than a galaxy. And it kept on
growing at a fantastic rate. It is
still expanding today.
The Big Bang theory is consid­
ered to be one of the greatest sci­
entific achievements of the 20th
century.
67
Fleming had worked
in battlefield hospi­
tals in World War I,
where soldiers died
from infected
wounds. So, he made
it his goal to find anti­
bacterial substances­
and he succeeded,
with the discovery of
penicillin.
Hooray . .
Hooray . . . I t's
a 'mouldy'
hol iday.
Why was the discovery of penicil­
lin a giant leap forward in medi­
cine?
P
enicillin is a common antibiotic
that is used to treat infections today.
It was discovered quite accidentally
by the Scottish bacteriologist Alex­
ander Fleming, in 1 928.
He had gone on a vacation, and
when he came back he found that a
green mould called Penicillium
notatum had contaminated the petri
dishes i n his lab. I n addition, this
mould was killing some of the bac­
teria he had been growing.
Fleming called his discovery
'mould juice'. Later, the name pen­
icilli n was adopted. After much
research and experi mentation, an
i njectable, mass-produced form of
penicillin was ready by 1 942. That
was just i n time to help soldiers
wounded in World War I I.
Tell MeWhy
As a result, bacterial pneu­
monia, which had killed 1 8 per
cent of fallen soldiers in World
War I, killed less than 1 per
cent of soldiers in World War
I I.
Penicillin
went
on
to
change the way we treat ill­
nesses and wounds, and its
discovery proved to be a
giant leap forward i n the field
of medicine.
What were the economic and
social effects of the Wall Street
Crash of 1 929?
T
UeSday, October 29th 1 929,
was a Black Tuesday for Wall
Street. It was the day that the
Wall Street stock market
crashed. Stock prices had
begun to decline in September
and early October 1 929.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
On October 1 8th the fall began.
Panic set in and on Tuesday,
October 29th, stock prices
crashed completely. Investors
traded some 1 6 million shares
on the New York Stock
Exchange in a single day.
Billions of dollars were lost,
wiping out thousands of inves­
tors. In the aftermath of Black
Tuesday, America and the rest
of the industrialised world spi­
ralled downward into the Great
Depression.
It was the deepest and long­
est-lasting economic downturn
in the history of the Western
industrialised world up to that
time.
The after effects of the crash
included the closure of banks
and increasing bankruptcies,
suicides, evictions, wage cuts,
and unemployment.
69
How did the Great Depression affect the
world?
T
he Great Depression started in 1 929. It
was sparked by the Wall Street Crash. It
was followed by large scale bank closures,
mass unemployment, homelessness, hun­
ger, despai r and dejection.
Bread lines and soup kitchens were the
only form of nourishment for the hungry.
Shantytowns sprang up across the coun­
try, and were the only refuge for the home­
less. Unemployed men, known as hobos,
travelled the railways to different locations
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
�
._._a
""
_"'_
""-"''''�'_=''
Hoovervilles
Herbert Hoover was the President of the USA
when the Great Depression began. The shan­
tytowns that sprang up after people lost their
regular homes were often called 'Hoover­
villes' as Hoover was generally blamed for the Depression .
•
70
Sneha Rao
Tell MeWhy
desperately searching
for
work. The Great Depression
had devastating effects in
countries all over the world,
both rich and poor. The G reat
Depression lasted for ten
years, and ended only i n 1 939.
How did the Dandi March cap­
ture the imagination of the
world?
The
Dandi March, also
known as the Salt March took
place from March to April 1 930
in I ndia.
It was an act of civil disobedi­
ence against Britain's Salt Act.
This Act prohibited I ndians
from collecti ng or selling salt, a
staple i n the I ndian diet. Mahat­
ma Gandhi led a non-violent
protest march agai nst the Salt
Act on March 1 2th, 1 930 from
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
his ashram to the sea coast
near the village of D andi .
This march is famously
known as the 'Dandi March,'
and it captured the i magination
of the world. The march contin­
ued for 24 days.
All along the way, Gandhi
addressed large crowds, and a
number of people joined the
march. By the time they
reached D andi on April 6th,
Gandhi was at the head of a
crowd of tens of thousands.
Early the next morning,
Mahatma Gandhi walked down
to the sea to make salt and
showcase his defiance of an
unfai r British law. His courage
i nspired millions of people.
Civil disobedience broke out
all across I ndia, and eventual­
ly, this led to the birth of inde­
pendent India.
71
��"·I
J.
•
" �'"
Will
STAR FACT
:
Nazism
Nazism is a set
of political
beliefs associat­
ed with the
National Social­
ist Party of Ger­
many. It was a
journalist Kon­
rad Heiden who
first referred to
the member:s of
the party as
Nazis, which
means 'simple
minded· in
Bavarian.
72
Why is World War II considered to be
the most devastating war in the history
of mankind?
World War II was the world's most
devastating war ever, directly involving
more than 1 00 million people from over
30 countries.
Lasting six years, it began on 1 st Sep­
tember 1 939, with the i nvasion of
Poland by Germany. It was a war
between two groups of countries - the
Allies and the Axis.
The major Allied Powers were Britain,
France, USSR, China, and the US.
Only
Aryans can
reside here.
...
:
.
.'
The major Axis Powers were
Germany, Italy, and Japan.
During the course of the war,
German
forces
advanced
through Europe. The US didn't
join the war until 1 94 1 , when
Japan attacked the U nited
States Naval Base at Pearl
Harbour.
In 1 944, an Allied army
crossed from Britai n to free
France from Nazi rule. One
year later, Allied armies invad·
ed Germany, forcing the Ger­
mans to surrender on 7'-h May,
1 945.
After nuclear attacks on
Japan's major cities Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, Japan also sur·
rendered to Allied forces in
August the same year.
Finally, World War II had
ended. It had changed the
lives of millions of people
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
around the globe, and killed
over 60 million. The world was
never the same again after
World War I I .
Allied Powers
France, Britain,
United States of America,
Soviet Union and
China.
What were the consequences
of the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbour?
wounded, many while valiantly
attempting to repulse the
attack. The day after the
attack, the United States of
hile World War II was rag­ America declared war agai nst
ing, the Imperial Japanese Navy Japan.
launched a surprise military
Three days later, Germany
strike on the US Naval Base at and Italy declared war against
Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on the the United States, and the US
morning of December 7th 1 941 . government responded in
Ninety minutes after it began, kind. The attack on Pearl Har­
the attack on Pearl Harbour bour woke a sleeping giant.
The
United
States
had
was over.
remai
ned
neutral
in
World
War
The attack struck a : critical
blow against the US . Pacific I I till then.
Pearl Harbour changed all
fleet. Much of it was rendered
'
useless. Four of eight battle­ that. It pushed the Americans
ships, three destroyers, and into the war that they were
seven other ships were sunk or avoiding for so long. The
severely damaged, and more . Americans fought a long
than
1 88
aircrafts were front in the Pacific, tryi ng to
avenge the attack on Pearl
destroyed.
A total of 2,403 Americans Harbour- and were finally
were killed and 1 , 1 78 were successful .
W
74
Tell MeWhy
How did the Quit India Move­
ment change the course of
history?
T
he Quit India Movement
was a civil disobedience move­
ment. It was launched by
Mahatma Gandhi on 8th
August, 1 942.
This historical movement
was played out in the backdrop
of World War I I . The British
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
government entered India into
the war without consultation
with the I ndian people. This
angered the Indians terribly.
On July 1 4th, 1 942, the Indian
National Congress passed a
resolution demanding com­
plete independence from Brit­
ai n and launched a civil
disobedience movement. On
August 8th, 1 942, the Quit India
Resolution was passed at the
Bombay session of the All
I ndia Congress Committee.
The British responded with
mass arrests. Hundreds of peo­
ple were killed by the police.
Many national leaders were
arrested. The Q uit I ndia Move­
ment was crushed.
However, it will always be
remembered as a major mile­
stone in the history of India's
struggle for freedom.
75
What was the result of the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki ?
H iroshima is a port in southwest Hon­
ar weapons
programme
during World
War II. But
because of lack
of resources,
they could not
develop an
atom bomb in
time.
Ryan Thomas
76
shu, Japan, on the Inland Sea west of
Osaka. The city was almost completely
destroyed in World War I I when US
dropped an atomic bomb on it on August
6th , 1 945.
The bomb, called 'Little Boy' , was the
first nuclear weapon ever used in military
warfare. However, the Japanese did not
surrender. So three days later, on August
9th , 1 945, another US bomber dropped a
second atomic bomb, 'Fat Man', on
Nagasaki. This broke the Japanese. On
August 1 5th , 1 945, Emperor Hirohito
announced his country's surrender.
The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki brought World War II to an
end. The bombings killed thousands.
The suffering of the Japanese people did
not end even then, but has continued for
decades.
Tell Me Why
Why is ENIAC considered to
be one of the most important
inventions in history?
E
N IAC stands for 'Electronic
N umerical Integrator and Com­
puter'. Its importance lies in the
fact that it was the world's first
general purpose computer.
EN IAC was designed and
built for the US Army to calcu­
late artillery firing tables. It
A big one
with a small
brain.
MILESTONES I N WORLD HISTORY
began as a secret World War I I
military project carried out by
John Mauchly and John Pres­
per Eckert Jr. But ENIAC, also
called 'The Giant Brain', was
not completed u ntil after the
war.
When EN IAC was intro­
duced to the public in 1 946, it
was hailed as an incredible
breakthrough that could com­
pute mathematical problems
with breathtaking speed.
The machine's power and
general-purpose uses fired the
imagination of the world. ENI­
AC weighed 30 tonnes.
The fact that today a single
microchip, no bigger than a fin­
gernail, can do more than
those 30 tonnes of hardware
does not take away from the
sense of awe that EN IAC
inspired at that time.
77
----
--
�.-
The U N
The U N provides
food to 90 million
people in over 75
countries. It
Why is the formation of the UN a his­
toric event?
The UN is an i nternational organisa­
tion of sovereign states, made up of
nearly every country in the world. It
was created in 1 945, in the wake of
World War II, so as to avoid another
such terrible war.
Fifty states signed the UN Charter,
and became the founding members of
the UN. Currently, the U N has 1 93
member states. The U N has four main
goals. The first purpose is to keep
peace throughout the world. The sec­
ond goal is to develop friendly rela­
tions between countries. The third is
to assist nations in encouraging
human rights, helping the poor,
improving literacy, and preventing
hunger and disease. Finally, the UN
aims to operate as a centre - a com78
assists over 34
million refugees,
and works with
1 40 nations to
combat climate
change. The UN
protects human
rights through 80
different treaties
and declarations.
munity-for achieving
these goals. The UN as
well as several of its
agencies and officials
have won the Nobel
Peace Prize at different
times.
humanitarian
This
organisation has an
i mportant influence on
the world today.
Tell MeWhy
What makes 1 947 a landmark
year in I ndian history?
August 1 5th , 1 947 is a date
written in letters of gold in the
most glorious chapter of I ndi­
an history. It was on this day
that I ndia threw off the shack­
les of British rule, and emerged
as a free and independent
nation.
The road to freedom was a
long and painful one. Those
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
who led the nation to victory on
this road had to pay a heavy
price i n terms of the sacrifices
they had to make.
Many of them had to face
i mprisonment
and
even
death. When the Indian tricol­
our was unfurled by Jawaha­
rial Nehru, the fi rst Pri me
Minister of I ndia, on the ram­
parts of the Red Fort of Delhi
on August 1 5th 1 947, it sig­
nalled not j ust the end of 200
years of British rule but
also the triumph of
Mahatma
Gandhi's
revolution
J) peaceful
based on non-violence
and non co-operation.
In addition, the fluttering
flag proudly proclai med
the birth of a new nation
and
world's largest
democracy as well.
79
In 1 958-59 Jack Kilby
and Robert Noyce
invented the integrated
circuit which is a single
chip with multiple tran­
sistors or other com­
ponents like resistors.
The first computer
chips had several thou­
sand transistors on
each chip to perform
calculations.
80
How has the i nvention of the tran­
sistor changed the way we live?
A
transistor is an electronic
component that can be used as
an amplifier, or as a switch. The
transistor revolutionised the field
of electronics, and paved the
way for smaller and cheaper
radios, calculators, and comput­
ers, among other things.
Three physicists were credited
with the invention of the transis­
tor in 1 948. They were Walter
Brattain, John Bardeen and Wil­
liam Shockley. The first transistor
was about the size of our palm,
and was made from Germanium.
Since then, transistors have
become smaller and smaller.
Introduced in 1 952, Shockley's
bipolar junction transistor, which
was made from a solid piece of
semiconductor material, dominatTell MeWhy
ed the industry for the
next 30 years. By
1 954,Texas
I nstru­
ments developed the
first transistor made
from silicon.
Today in electronic
devices we use comput­
er chip, also called chip,
integrated circuit or
small wafer of semicon­
ductor material embed­
ded with integrated
circuitry. Chips com­
prise the processing and
memory units of modern
digital computers.
As transistor compo­
nents have shrunk, the
number of chips have
doubled about every 1 8
months, from a few
thousand to more than
one billion.
What is the significance of January
26th, 1 950?
J
anuary 26th , 1 950 is the day India
became a sovereign, democratic
republic. India became independent
on August 1 5th, 1 947.
A new constitution of India was
drafted by a committee headed by
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and it is the long­
est constitution in the world.
Although the draft was presented
on November 4, 1 947, it took 2 years,
1 1 months and 1 8 days for it to be
finalised.
The Constitution of I ndia formally
came into force on 26th January 1 950.
The day is celebrated as Republic
Day in I ndia every year.
The celebrations last for three days,
and for every Indian this is a time
when the heart is filled with love for
the motherland, and the head is held
high with patriotic pride.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
81
Why was the discovery of the struc­
ture of the DNA an important mile­
stone in science?
D NA is the material that carries all
Recipe Book
DNA, or
deoxyribonucleic
acid is a long
molecule that
the information about how a living thing
will look and function. For instance, our
D NA determines such things as what
colour our complexion is and how tall
we will grow to be.
DNA, which is found i n every cell of
every living thing, is made of chemical
substances that are linked together
like a chain. It has a complex structure.
contains our
unique genetic
code. Like a
recipe book, it
Wow . . .
more secrets
reveal ed . . .
holds the instruc­
tions for making
aU the proteins in
our bodies.
•
82
Radha Nair
Tell M eWhy
Each piece of DNA has two
long strands, or chains that are
joined together in a shape
resembling a twisted or spiral
ladder.
DNA has four different bases
and the order in which they are
arranged forms a code that
tells cells to make certain kinds
of proteins. In the early 1 950s,
scientists had learned a lot
about genetics, but they still
didn't understand the structure
of the DNA molecule.
James Watson and Francis
Crick discovered the structure
of the DNA in 1 953. They were
able to put together an accu­
rate model of the structure.
Why was Sputnik 1 a landmark
in space exploration?
S
putnik 1 was the first man­
made satellite to be launched
into orbit.
It was launched by the
Soviet U nion on October 4th
1 957. The tiny spacecraft
orbited Earth once every 90
minutes.
The satellite was the size of
a basketball and it travelled at
about 29,000 kilometres per
hour.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
,
FIRST SATE LLITE
Sputnik 1 emitted a continu­
ous beep signal that could be
heard by radio operators
around the world.
The satellite itself provided
scientists with valuable infor­
mation. Sputnik 1 orbited the
Earth for three months, after
which it burned itself up as it
fell from orbit and re-entered
the Earth's atmosphere.
This remarkable achieve­
ment is widely credited with
starting the race between the
US and USSR to dominate
space exploration.
The launch is a milestone in
that it ushered in a new era of
political, military, technological,
and scientific developments.
83
Mary conducted the excava­
tions and was the actual finder
of the archaeological evi­
dence. Her husband, Louis
Leakey interpreted and publi­
cised their findings.
In 1 948, Mary found the first
perfectly preserved skull of a
hominoid, an ape-like ancestor
of humans. Mary Leakey's
most important discovery, took
place in 1 978. Her team uncov­
ered the footprints of two hom­
in
The
Tanzania.
i nids
footprints were estimated to be
Why will the world always 3.5 million years old.
This indicated that humans
remember Mary and Louis
began walking upright much
Leakey?
earlier than scientists previ­
ary and Louis Leakey will . ously thought. The Leakeys
always be remembered for the changed the way we now view
i mportant archaeological dis­ early humans, and made sig­
coveries they made involving nificant contributions to the
understanding of our origins.
early humans.
Today is
not a good day.
We found j us t
one sku l l .
M
84
Tell M eWhy
What did the fal l of the Berlin
Wall signify?
T
he Berlin Wall, was a wall
built in 1 961 separating Soviet
controlled East Berlin from
West Berlin, which was under
the control of the Allies, France,
Britain, and the USA.
The wall was built to com­
pletely cut-off West Berlin from
East Berlin and East Germany,
and to stop citizens from leav­
ing East Germany for West
Germany.
The Berlin Wall consisted of
1 54 kilometres of barrier
between the east and the west,
with concrete and barbed wire
barriers separating the two
sides at different stretches
along the wall. In all, 1 36 peo­
ple died trying to cross the Ber­
lin Wall during its existence.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
The hated Berlin Wall came
to symbolise the ' I ron Curtain'
that
separated
Western
Europe and the Eastern Bloc
during the Cold War.
Finally, Germany became
one country again on October
3rd , 1 990, and the Berlin Wall
was demolished. The fall of
the Berlin Wall signified the
end of the Cold War between
the superpowers of the world.
Don't s i t
o n m e ! 1 ' m from
the Berl i n
Wall.
8
Why was the Cuban Missile
Crisis a dangerous one for the
entire world?
The Cuban Missile Crisis is
regarded as the closest the
world has ever come to nucle­
ar war. It was a major confron­
tation during the Cold War
between the United States and
the Soviet Union.
The crisis was triggered
when Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev agreed to Cuba's
request to place nuclear mis­
siles in Cuba to prevent future
harassment of Cuba by the
US. A number of missile
launching facilities were set up
in Cuba in the summer of 1 962.
President Kennedy of the US
then decided to establish a mil­
itary blockade to prevent fur­
ther missiles from entering
86
Cuba. For a tense 1 3 days, the
world was on the edge of a
nuclear war.
Finally Khrushchev and Ken­
nedy came to an agreement.
The Soviets agreed to disman­
tle their missiles in Cuba. I n
turn, the US agreed to disman­
tle US missile bases in Turkey
and also agreed never to
invade Cuba without direct
provocation. The Cuban Mis­
sile Crisis ended on October
28th, 1 962. A nuclear war was
avoided in the history of the
world.
Why do we say that history
was made on July 20th 1 969?
O
n July 20th 1 969, American
astronauts Neil Armstrong and
Edwin Aldrin became the first
humans ever to land on the
Tell MeWhy
Neil Armstrong became the first man to
walk on the Moon. Armstrong said,
'That's one small step for a man, one
giant leap for mankind'l
Moon. Four days earlier, on
July 1 6th, with the world watch­
ing, the Apollo 1 1 spacecraft
had taken off from Kennedy
Space Centre with astronauts
Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin,
and Michael Collins aboard.
After traveling 76 hours,
Apollo 1 1 entered into a lunar
orbit on July 1 9th• The next
day,the lunar module Eagle,
manned by Armstrong and
Aldrin, separated from the
command module, where Col­
lins remained. Two hours later,
the Eagle touched down on
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
the Sea of Tranquility! As Arm­
strong made his way down the
lunar module's ladder, a televi­
sion camera recorded his pro­
gress, and beamed the signal
back to Earth, where millions
watched in great anticipation.
Why was the satellite Aryab­
hata a landmark in I ndian
space research?
O
n April 1 9, 1 975, India
entered the space age. On this
historic day, I ndia launched its
first-ever satellite. It was
named the Aryabhata after the
great 5th century astronomer
and mathematician.
Aryabhata
was
actually
launched from within the Sovi­
et Union by a Russian-made
rocket, under an agreement
signed by the two countries. It
,
was built by the Indian Space
Research Organisation or
ISRO.
The purpose of Aryabhata
was to conduct experiments in
X-ray astronomy and solar
physics. A lot of useful infor­
mation was collected by the
satellite before it burnt up as it
re-entered the Earth's atmos­
phere on 1 1 th February 1 992.
Aryabhata was the turning
point for Indian space research
for it proved to the world that
India has the capacity to make
and operate satellites.
Currency Notes
Indian two rupee notes had a new design on
them between 1 976 and 1 997. They carried
an image of the satellite Aryabhata on the
reverse.
88
Tell MeWhy
,
.
NOBE L PRIZE
Why is the i nvention of dynamite
significant?
The invention of dynamite was a
Alfred Nobel
r
1
Record
Marie Curie was the
only person who
won Nobel Prizes in
both physics and
chemistry.
milestone in human history as it cat­
alysed the rapid development of
infrastructure in many nations. Alfred
Nobel, a Swedish industrialist, invent­
ed dynamite, and endowed the Nobel
Prize. The impact of dynamite was
huge. Railways, roads, tunnels and
canals were created, demolished
and rebuilt with the help of dynamite.
Nobel invented dynamite in 1 866
by combining volatile nitroglycerine
with silica. Before he passed away
in 1 896, he left a will dedicating his
fortune to create a unique prize
rewarding the outstanding contribu­
tions in various fields. Prizes were
instituted in the fields of physics,
chemistry, medicine, peace, and lit­
erature. Thus, the Nobel Prize was
born.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
89
What was the consequence of
the revolution of 1 989?
I
n December 1 989, a week
long series of violent uprisings
took place in Romania. Roma­
nia's communist leader Nico­
lae Ceausescu was overthrown
in a violent revolution, and fled
from the capital, Bucharest.
This marked the last of the
popular uprisings against com­
munist rule in Eastern Europe
that year.
In Poland, the largest Com­
munist country apart from the
iii!
��JI
I
1111
STAR FACT
90
Soviet U nion, the free trade
union, Solidarity had won the
national
elections
making
Poland the first Soviet satellite
state to have a non communist
government.
With the increasing protests,
the Communist Party of Czech­
oslovakia too announced on
November 28th that it would
relinquish power.
In Bulgaria and Hungary too,
the Communists were ousted,
and 1 989 became the year
that changed the face of
Europe.
A Tough
Regime
Nicolae Ceausescu was the country's head of
the state from 1 967 to 1 989. He was also
Romania's second and last Communist lead­
er. Ceausescu's regime was oppressive.
Tell MeWhy
What was the result of the
breakup of the Soviet U nion?
The breakup of the Soviet
Union started in the late 1 980s
and was complete when the
country broke up into 1 5 inde­
pendent states on December
26th, 1 99 1 .
When Mikhail Gorbachev
took over as General Secre­
tary of the Soviet Union in
1 985, the economy was in bad
shape. Gorbachev introduced
two important reforms to deal
with the situation. The first he
called Glasnost.
Glasnost
allowed more freedom of
speech and openness in gov­
ernment. The other reform
was called Perestroika. This
released some of the tight con­
trol the government had on the
economy.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
This freedom encouraged
some of the Soviet states to
demand their freedom . Soon,
more states joined them in
demanding independence and
in December 1 99 1 , the Soviet
U nion was dissolved. It was
replaced by 1 5 new independ­
ent nations. The collapse of
the Soviet U nion changed the
world's balance of power and
ended an era of competing
91
Why was the abolition of apart­
heid a victory for humanity?
Apartheid refers to a political
carry 'pass books' with their
fingerprints, photo, and infor­
mation if they wanted to enter
into areas that were considered
'non-black'.
This was a very unfair sys­
tem , and the blacks, led by a
great leader named Nelson
Mandela rebelled against it.
The rest of the world also sup­
ported the struggle by the
blacks for equality and finally
in 1 994, the system of apart­
heid was withdrawn. It was a
great victory, not just for the
blacks of South Africa, but for
humanity itself.
system of government that
existed in South Africa between
1 948 and 1 994.
Under this system, the races
were separated. The Europe­
ans or whites, who were in the
minority, ruled the country.
The majority of the population
consisted of native Africans,
who were the original inhabit­
ants of the country. They were
termed 'blacks', and were kept
apart from the whites.
In fact, the term apartheid is
an Afrikaans word that means Why was Chandrayaan-1 a tri­
'separateness'. The whites . umph for India's space pro­
determined where a person gramme?
might live; go to school, and
handrayaan-1 , the I ndian
what jobs he or she might hold.
Black people were forced to spacecraft, was India's first
C
92
Tell MeW hy
mission to the Moon. It successful­
ly reached the lunar surface on
November 1 4, 2008 and became
the first I ndian-built object to reach
the surface of the Moon.
The flight was launched from
the Satish D hawan Space Cen­
tre, Sriharikota on October 22nd ,
2008. The Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle , PSLV-XL C 1 1 , suc­
Chan­
cessfully
lau nched
d rayaan- 1 spacecraft into orbit.
Excellent quality pictures of the
lunar su rface were taken and
relayed back to Eart h . Chan­
drayaan- 1 was i n operation till
August 2009. With the success
of the mission, India joined a
select band of countries who
have u ndertaken lunar m i ssions.
Chandrayaan-1 has success­
fully demonstrated India's ability
in carrying out highly complex
space missions. It has paved the
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
Chandrayaan-2 will
be ISRO's second mis­
sion to the moon. A
moon rover will be
sent up. Moving on
wheels on the lunar
surface, the rover will
pick up samples of
rocks, analyse them
and relay the data to
an orbiting spacecraft.
way for u ndertaking fur­
ther missions not just to
the Moon but beyond it as
well.
93
Here's a contest for our readers.
Identify these ANIMALS.
from the photos
given here.
An you need to do is send us an email naming each one
with the proper number.
PHOTO
QUIZ
(PlEASE GIVE YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS ALSO IN THE E'MAIL)
You are also welcome to send your answers by post.
Ten winners wI11 be awarded prizes.
In case there are more thin ten correct entries,
the wiMers wID be chosen by lot.
o
WATER
SCI ENCE KIT
94
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your entry by POst.
superscribe this on your
envelope.
M.M. PubUcations Ltd., P.8. No. 226,
Kottayam, Kerala, lNDIA. Pin · 686 001.
[email protected]
Our e-mail address:
PHOTO QUIZ 7
Please enter
TMW
-
in the subject line of your email.
95
�.PHof(f aulz -4 WINNERS
.......
'".
'
,�.
Winners of the Photo Quiz-4
held in the April issue of
Tell Me Why.
1. Aadya Singh
6. Gopi Kannan T
1 044(B). 2nd Floor.C2-Block.Palam Vihar. Gurgaon.
7-5-12/1. S5. Sri Sai Datta Arcade. Veterinary Hospi­
Haryana.
tal Road. Ramaraopeta. Kakinada. Andhra Pradesh.
7. Aaron John Joezac
2. Srushti Lolusare
Flat 3. Block 1. Sahyadri Apartments. Plot 5.
P·468. Sector-21. Jal Vayu Vihar. Noida. UP.
Sector 12. Owarka. New Delhi.
8. Adithya GalipeUi
3. Aastha Narayan
Flat No.l02. Maruthi Residency. Prashanth Nagar.
4/59. ESIC Nagar. New Link Road. Near D.N. Nagar
Kapra. Hyderabad.
Police Station. Andheri (West). Mumbai.
4. Aastha Patodi
201 Dasmesh Apartment. Behind AG Office.
13 Chatrapati Nagar. Near Airport Road. Indore. MP.
5. Sailaja Priyadarshini
9. Aditi Singh
N.O.P. Doranda. Ranchi.
10. Goutam Aji
C/o Dr. Abhaya Kumar Samal. Plot No: 366/5.
C/o Aji Jayachandran. Pezhunilkunnathil House.
Alakapuri Housing Complex. Bhubaneswar. Odisha.
Ullannoor. Pathanamthitta.
PHOTO Q U I Z-4 ANSWERS
1. Rani Lakshmi Sai.
2. Sarojini Naidu.
3. Indira Gandhi.
4. Mother Teresa.
5. M.S. Subbulakshmi.
MUMBAI
M.M. Publications Ltd.,
P.B. No. 226, Kottayam, K.,ala. India,
Pin ·686001.
Phone: 0481 - 2563721 - 22, 23
fax; ++91 - 481 - 2564393
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[email protected]
·
!
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lal Bagh Road. Bangalore-27.
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(HENNAI
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96
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Off. Ganpat Rao Kadam Marg,
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lower Pare! (W), Mumbai 400 013.
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•
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, Uo. Dr. 8( Mathur, 8-H29/1, Road No.12,
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KOLKATA
•
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PATNA
.
Manorama,
MaIayaIa
608Jagat Trade Centre, fraz., Road,
Patna-800 001.
Tel: 0612 2233809 Mob: 093344 84825. .
LUCKNOW
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luanow·226016. Tel: 0522 2341576.
(HANDIGARH
MaIayaIa Manorama,
H.No. 2252, Ground floor Annexe, Sector: 21 C,
Chandigarh- l60022. Tel: 0172 2724699
. (OIMBATORE
MaIayaIa Manorama, 101, SUnshine Buildings,
1056, Avinashi Road, (Opp.NiIgiri SUper Market),
Coimbatore-641 018. Tel: 2241911 (Or),
2245470 (Gen) fax: 0422 2245367.
BHOPAL
MaIayoIa Manorama,
Gopal Shawan, No.161, Zone 1, M P Nagar,
Bhopal · 16, Madhya PradesIl. Tel: 0755 2557937.
JAIPUR
MaIayaIa Manorama, Royal 8usiness Chambers,
Usha Plaza, Opposite All India Radio, M I Road,
Jaipur, (Rajasthan) 302001. Tel: (0) 94616 28912AHMEDABAD
MaIayaIa Manorama, Uo foIo Rux Pvt. Ud., 407,
5akar · 111, Opp. Old High Court, Nr. lncome Tax
Olde, Ahmedabad - 380014. Tel: 079 27541971 1 2
PUNE
MaIayoIa Manorama,
Tripti Business Centre, OarekarHeights, A-32,
Karie Road, Opp Railway Boo«ing ofti<e,
Pune--41 1 004. Mob: 9881477305
Tell MeWhy
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Why is plaster of Paris so called?
Plaster of Paris, or simply plaster, is
the common name for calcium sulphate
hemihydrate. It is made by heating the
mineral gypsum.
There is an interesting story behind its
curious name. In 1 666, a fire that raged
across the city of London destroyed
many buildings. Keeping this catastro­
phe in mind, the King of France ordered
that all walls made of wood in Paris be
immediately covered with plaster, as a
protection against such fires.
Paris had a lot of gypsum deposits at
that time, and the king's order resulted in
the large-scale mining of the mineral.
Thus, the city of Paris became the cen­
tre of plaster production, and hence the
material came to be known as plaster of
Paris.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY
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Indhu Thomas
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