January 1- New Year And More

Bhubaneswar: The world celebrates New Year today, on January 1. However, this date is known not just for the beginning of a brand new year as per the Roman calendar, but for some other important events too.

Here are a few important ones.

January 1, is the birth date of Indian Standard Time. In 1906, IST was formed and it is being calculated on the basis of 82.5 degree East Longitude, just west of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The difference between IST and Greenwich Mean Time, is exactly five hours and 30 minutes.

On this day, United Nations was established in 1942. Representatives of about 26 countries came together and signed a declaration establishing the existence of the UN, to enforce peacekeeping strategies and end the war. Around this time, the world was in the middle or the World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were among the signatories.

In 1776, this day, US president George Washington unveiled the Grand Union Flag during the American Revolution. This is known as America’s first national flag.

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves in the States rebelling against the Union. This was during the third year of a bloody war.

On this day, famous comic actor Asrani was born who is best remembered for his role as a jailor in the Bollywood blockbuster ‘Sholay’. He has been into the industry for more than five decades and has won two Filmfare awards for best actor in a comic role. Also born this day, was Deepa Mehta, known for her movies like ‘Earth’, ‘Fire’, and ‘Water’. Actress Vidya Balan, too celebrates her birthday today.

Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose, known as the father of the God Particle was also born this day in 1984. He had worked with Einstein on finding the God Particle. Bosons are named after him.

This day is also observed as Public Domain Day, when copyrights expire and works enter into the public domain legally. It is based on the individual copyright laws of each country. Works of Charlie Chaplin and Agatha Christie entered theww public domain this year.