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 tainment for the Roman people
landmark in world history? in the Colosseum, including

The
mock sea battles.
Colosseum of Ancient After four centuries of active
Rome is one of the landmarks use, the magnificent arena fell
of world history, for it is a testi into neglect. Though two-thirds
monial to the greatness of the of the original Colosseum has
Roman Empire. been destroyed over time, the
This giant am phitheatre was am phitheatre remains a popu
built in the centre of Rome. lar tourist destination, as well
The construction was started as an iconic symbol of Rome.
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 enter-
4
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

 What is the significance of the rise of
Look! I've the Gupta Dynasty?
gradua ted from
Nal anda.
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 Why is Constantine known as a great
musicians were Emperor?

T
encouraged.
It was also an era of he Roman Emperor Constantine,
extensive i nventions who ruled from 306 to 337 AD, has left
and discoveries in sci his m ark in history as the ruler who
ence and technology. united the Western Roman Empire
Nalanda U niversity, with the Eastern Roman Empire.
which became the When Constanti ne came to the
centre for the educa throne, the Roman Empire consisted
tion, was built during of two separate empires, one in West
this time. ern Europe, and the other in Eastern
The g reat m athe Europe. Constantine was a mighty
m atician Aryabhata, general who became the sole ruler of
the famous poet Kali both the western and eastern halves,
dasa, and the revered and u nited them into one powerful
physician Dhanvan empi re.
tari all lived d u ri ng In AD 324, Constantine established
this era. a new capital of the Roman Empire.
Therefore, it is not He named it Constanti nople, and it
surprising that this became the largest city of its times.
period is considered to Constantine was converted to Christi
be the Golden Age of anity, and became the first Christian
Ancient I ndia. 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
an m athematics and Indian
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
lunar eclipses, he believed,
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 Value of Zero
a part of his treatise titled Aryab Aryabhata lived dur
hatiya. It also dealt with other top ing the Golden Age of
ics in mathematics, like geometry, the Gupta Empire.
square root, cube root, and pro One of his most valu
gression. able contributions
Aryabhatiya is, therefore, was the concept of
undoubtedly one of the most im por 'zero'.
tant treatises ever penned.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY 9
Why was the exploration of Greenland, and Erik the Red
Greenland a significant event? colonised the southwestern

G
part of Greenland. He gave
reenland, which is located Greenland its name, and ush
between the Arctic and the ered in the country's Viking
Atlantic Oceans, is the world's era. The Vikings lived in
largest island. G reenland for almost 500
Almost 80 per cent of the years, and then disappeared.
land mass is covered by an ice However, Erik the Red had
cap and glaciers. Greenland made Europe aware of the
was first settled by a series of existence of this awesome
nomadic tribal peoples. land, and this has earned him
In AD 986, Norwegian-born a place in the history of the
Erik Thorvaldson, known as world.
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 decid-
ed to explore it. his was _
10
What is the importance of the of reasons. It linked England
Norman Conquest of Britain? more closely with France and

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
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 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
Apt Name Vishnu.
The name Angkor
Covering an area of roughly 202
Wat means 'tem hectares, its layout recreates the
ple city' or city of image of Mount Meru, a legendary
temples. 'Angkor place in Hindu mythology that is
Wat was not the believed to lie beyond the Himalayas,
original name giv and be the home of the Gods.
en to the temple Angkor Wat was shifted from H indu
when it was built to Buddhist use sometime around the
in the 12th century. late 1 3th century. The temple is used
We have little by Buddhists today. Angkor Wat is
knowledge of how depicted on Cambodia's national flag,
this temple was and is Cambodia's national monu
referred to during ment as well . The temple represents
the time of its use. one of mankind's most astonishing
architectural achievements.
12 Tell MeWhy
What was the impact of Geng mounted courier service
his Khan's Empire on world known as the 'Yam' . The
history? empire founded by Genghis

G
Khan modernised Mongolian
enghiS Khan founded the culture, and helped open con
Mongol Empire and became tact between East and West.
one of the most feared con Genghis Khan is now seen
querors of his time. Between as a national hero, and the
1 206 and 1 227, the Mongol founding father of Mongolia.
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
 Why was the signing of the Mag
Wait a minute,
my signature is
na Carta a historic event?
a b i t lengthy.
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 What is the significance of the travels
was the first formal of Marco Polo?

M
document stating that
a king had to follow arco Polo was one of the most
the laws of the land, important and famous explorers and
and it guaranteed the writers from Europe.
rights of individuals He was born in Venice in 1 254 . In
against the wishes of 1 266, Marco's father and uncle left for
the king. China to start a trading business, leav
This meant people ing Marco behind. Marco first ventured
couldn't be arrested, to China when he was 1 7, travelling
imprisoned, or have with his father and uncle. The trip took
their possessions tak four years. He stayed for 1 7 years,
en away except by working as an advisor to Kublai Khan
the law of the land. and travelling through Asia.
The Magna Carta Marco returned to Venice, and a few
guaranteed the civil years later he was arrested when Ven
rights of the individu ice went to war with Genoa. It was dur
al. ing his jail term that the book 'The
In this respect, it Travels of Marco Polo' was written.
was a historic docu Marco's book was very successful. It
ment, and it remains proved to be an inspiration for many
to this day, a symbol other explorers, including Christopher
of liberty. 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 lage of Cuzco, high in the Andes
i mportant in world histo Mountains of South America. Over
ry? the next 1 00 years, the Inca con

T
q uered, tribe after tribe u ntil they
he I ncas were a small built an empire that stretched near
tribe that lived in the vil- 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
Son of the Sun professions like weavers who
The Incas called their made textiles, and musicians who
empire Tawantin created new musical instruments.
suyu, or the Land of There was an efficient central
Four Corners. Their government, a strong economy,
king, or Sapa Inca, and a well trained army. The I ncas
was considered as have left a lasting legacy, and
the Son of the Sun. many of their traditions live on in
the Andes Mountains.
18 Tell MeWhy
What is the importance of the In 1 455, Gutenberg demon
printing of the Gutenberg strated the power of the print
Bible? ing press by selling copies of a

The invention of the Guten

two-volume Bible, known as
the Gutenberg Bible. Each
berg printing press is consid page of the book had 42 lines.
ered to be one of the most The paper was handmade,
important inventions of all and each page contained a
time. watermark. At first, 1 80 copies
were made, most of them on
The Gutenberg
press wants a paper, although some were
proofreader. 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 Baha-
20
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 Hernan Cortes' Army
quest of the Aztecs by the Span iards?

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
Mandatory
empire. Invaders led by the Spanish
conq uistador Hernan Cortes over Education was
threw the Aztecs by force, and cap very important to
tured Tenochtitlan in 1 521. They tore the Aztecs. Par
down much of the city of Tenochtitlan, ents were sup
posed to teach
and built their own city on the site
their children
called Mexico City.
properly. and
The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs
every child had to
destroyed a great civilization. It made
attend school too.
Spain a world power, and eventually,
led to the creation of Mexico.
22 Tell MeWhy
What did Magellan's voyage age around the world provided
around the world teach us? the Europeans with far more

F
than just spices.
erdinand Magellan, a Por European geographic knowl
tuguese sea captain, set out edge was expanded immeas
from Spain in 1 51 9 with a fleet urably by Magellan's
of five ships to discover a west expedition.
ern sea route to the Spice Most important of all, Magel
Islands. lan's voyage proved conclu
On his way, he discovered sively that the Earth was round,
what is now known as the and not flat, as was believed
Strait of Magellan, and became earlier.
t he first European to cross the
Pacific Ocean . Reached
The voyage was long and the same pl ace.
dangerous, and only one ship A wasted
journey!
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 voy-
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
What was Copernican helio because of opposition from
centrism? the Church .
However, Copernicus' mod
C opernican heliocentrism is el of the universe was accept
ed because his was more
a very big term for an astro
nomical model developed by accurate. He also had a better
Nicolaus Copernicus, an formula for the calculation of
astronomer, mathematician, planet's positions at different
and scientist born in the 15th times of the year.
century.
How many
This model changed how
yol ks are there
we viewed the positioning of in this bul l's
the S u n , Earth, and other eye?
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 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, Why were Galileo's astronomical
that pl anet observations using a telescope a sci
is a star! 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 the heart. He also described
leo has been called the 'father how the heart's regular con
of observational astronomy', tractions drive the flow of blood
the 'father of modern physics', around the whole body.
and the 'father of science'. Harvey was able to make his
discoveries because he
What was the impact of Wil ignored the medical text books
liam H arvey's discovery of of the time. Instead, he dis
blood circulation? sected animals, and made his

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
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
gravitational attraction
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 Not the Only One
complete, and was published on 1 5th
April 1 755. It was not the first such In 1 755, a new
dictionary, but was certainly the Universal Etymolog
ical Didionary
most important at that time.
compiled by
I n Johnson's lifetime, five further
Scott-Bailey was
editions were published, and a sixth
also published. So,
came out just after his death. John
Johnson's didionary
son defined 43,000 words.
was not the only one
His dictionary was path breaking
that was published
in many ways and had a great influ in that year - but it
ence on the style of later dictionar was certainly the
ies. Johnson sometimes explained most famous one.
words in his dictionary in a way that
showed his opinions too.
30 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
ered , special-pu rpose
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 away. he was declared a
Social Contract' bring about national hero in France.
changes in society?

" ean Jacques Rousseau pendence. His political ideas

was a great French philoso were championed by leaders
pher. His most famous work is of the French Revolution, and
'The Social Contract' , which played an important role in trig
was written in 1 762. gering the Revolutionary War.
In this book, Rousseau
argued against the prevailing Yes,
belief that kings had absolute I agree. The
peop l e are
powers by divine right. He
sovereign.
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 Inde-
32 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?
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

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
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 The Declaration of I nde
Declaration of Independence pendence laid the fou ndation
on the world? for the United States of Ameri

The
ca, and had great impact on
Declaration of I nde world history. It i nspired the
pendence was a document freedom movement in many
declaring the US to be inde countries that were under the
pendent of the British Crown. It colonial rule of European
was signed on July 4th, 1 776, countries.
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 Fr" The Legend
Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson died on
states that the authority to gov July 4, 1 826, the 50th
er n belongs to the people, that anniversary of the vote to
all people are created equal approve the Declaration of
and have rights to life, liberty, Independence.
and the pursuit of happiness.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY 35
 How did the French Revolution change
history?
Waiti ng
for another
revol ution . .
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. educate their children.
She says that an educat
Why is 'A Vindication of the Rights ed woman can also be
of Woman' considered to be a companions to their hus
milestone in world history? bands, rather than just

'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
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.

How did Edward Jenner's dis

covery of the smallpox vaccine
Don't worry,
i t's j ust change the world?

For centuries, smallpox was a

sma l l pox
vi rus.
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?
T
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.
This is how Jenner's vacci
nation treatment was born.
Jenner's work is regarded as
the foundation of immunology.
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
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 .
His was the first successful
vaccine ever to be developed,
and remains the only effective
preventive for smallpox.
39
 This too was
a camera? Hard
to bel ieve.
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
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
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 a-
Tell 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
 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
Dr. Crawford Long James Venable, in order to remove
a tumour from the man's neck. The
INTRODUCTION OF
Doctor,
ANAESTHESIA
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

, ,
. ... \
C)ll1. Pain Go Away
A patient who is given general anaesthesia
. 11i : before surgery will not feel any pain during
STAR FACT
.

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 What is the significance of I ndia's first
l fa t-'free' war of i ndependence?
\. rifle.
India'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
ti me unfavourable traits
become less com mon. This is
known as the Theory of Natu
ral Selection.
D arwin presented compel
ling evidence from his
detai led research which
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 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
Wow! These ered that living thi ngs pass traits
p l a n ts are look to the next generation by some
a l i kes. 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 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
Win One, Lose One Europe and South Asia had to make a
Ferdinand de long and dangerous voyage all the
lesseps was the way around the tip of Africa. The
developer of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1 869,
Suez Canal which changed all that.
proved to be a Ships could now go directly between
grand success. He the Mediterranean and Red Sea
also dreamt of through the canal. This 1 93 km long
building a canal
across the Isthmus
of Panama. Work
began in 1 881, but
Ferdinand failed to
:eh2)
cut.
...-

achieve his second

dream.

48
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 .
S u ffragi sts celebrated
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

Louis, were French inventors who are
credited with the invention of the film
camera.
, The First Film A three-in-one device that could
The Lumiere record, develop, and project motion
Brothers shot pictures, the Cinematographe as it
footage of workers was called, would go down in history
at their factory as the first viable film camera. The
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.
 Oops. How did Marconi change the way the world
This wireless communicated?
set is sound
l ess.
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
kind. The Olympic Games
promote the Olympic spirit,
which brings people from all
over the world together.
55
What is the historic i mpor 'The Interpretation of Dreams'
tance of the book 'The Inter is a fascinating text revealing
pretation of Dreams'? Freud's unique talent as a writ

We all have dreams while

er and ambitious theorist.
The book is very important,
sleeping, but when we wake because it introduced many
up, we generally forget about key concepts that would later
them. However, in 1 899, Sig become central to the theory of
mund Freud, a psychoanalyst, psychoanalysis.
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
 WINGS FOR HUMAN

Why was the flight at Kitty Hawk a his Orville Wright

toric one?

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
Wilbur Wright
their fascination with flight began when
their father brought home a toy helicop
ter when they were children. Their first With this achieve
flight using an engine was on 1 7th ment, the Wright
December, 1 903 at Kitty Hawk Island, Brothers had proved
USA. that Man can fly, and
The plane had a wingspan of 40.3 successfully laid
feet. It was Orville who flew the plane. down the fundamen
The flight lasted 1 2 seconds, and the tal principles of air
plane flew for 1 20 feet. It was a historic craft design that are
moment when the aircraft landed safely still relevant to this
after this maiden flight. day.
MIL ESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY 57
Why did Einstein's Theory of of gravity. The theory explained
Relativity stun the world of how time and distance may
science? change due to the 'relative' or

A lbert Einstein was a scien

different speed of the object
and the observer.
tific genius who was born in It broke new ground in the
1 879 in Germany. Einstein world of science. In 1 921 , Ein
made many contributions to stein won the Nobel Prize in
the field of theoretical physics. Physics for his services to
He revised Newton's laws of Theoretical Physics.
----
gravity to make them more Science
accurate. has to energise
We call what he developed the mass.
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 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?
W
l e know that the atom is
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
virtually every other
auto maker assembled
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 Ferdi-
62
nand by a Serbian youth Gavri-
10 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
 What was the effect of the Spanish flu
A l l the way on the world?

B
from Spain to
attack you ... 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 reaching impact on the history of the
quences of the Russian world.
Revolution? The first revolution was in Febru

T
ary, and the second in October of
he term Russian Rev 1 91 7. Prior to the revolution, the
olution actually refers to Russian monarchy had become pro
two separate revolutions gressively weaker, and increasingly
in 1 91 7, which had a far insensitive to the hardships of the
people. The emperor, Czar Nicolas
Move I I , used extremely severe measures
forward . . 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
64 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? crowd. The shooting conti nued

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
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

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
Nothing a whole is considered to be more impor
against the
s tate. 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.
66 Tell MeWhy
Why is the Big Bang theory credited with the Big Bang theory
considered the greatest of how the U niverse began.
scientific achievement of Today, most astronomers agree
the 20th century? with this theory that the Universe

G
began in a Big Bang, about 1 3.8
eorges Lemaitre, a Bel billion years ago. At that time, the
gian astronomer is usually 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
cosmic microwave ger than a galaxy. And it kept on
background radiation growing at a fantastic rate. It is
was discovered. still expanding today.
The discovery was The Big Bang theory is consid
crucial, as it supported ered to be one of the greatest sci
the Big Bang Model. entific achievements of the 20th
century.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY 67
 Fleming had worked
in battlefield hospi
tals in World War I,
where soldiers died Why was the discovery of penicil
from infected lin a giant leap forward in medi
wounds. So, he made cine?

P
it his goal to find anti
bacterial substances enicillin is a common antibiotic
and he succeeded, that is used to treat infections today.
with the discovery of It was discovered quite accidentally
penicillin. by the Scottish bacteriologist Alex
ander Fleming, in 1 928.
He had gone on a vacation, and
Hooray . . when he came back he found that a
Hooray . . . I t's green mould called Penicillium
a 'mouldy' notatum had contaminated the petri
hol iday. 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 .
Sneha Rao

70 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
 Why is World War II considered to be
"I

J.
" '"
Will
the most devastating war in the history
of mankind?

STAR FACT
World War II was the world's most
devastating war ever, directly involving
: Nazism more than 1 00 million people from over
30 countries.
Nazism is a set
Lasting six years, it began on 1 st Sep
of political
tember 1 939, with the i nvasion of
beliefs associat
Poland by Germany. It was a war
ed with the
between two groups of countries - the
National Social
Allies and the Axis.
ist Party of Ger
The major Allied Powers were Britain,
many. It was a
France, USSR, China, and the US.
journalist Kon
rad Heiden who
Only
first referred to Aryans can
the member:s of reside here.
the party as
Nazis, which
means 'simple
minded in
Bavarian.

72
 . .'
... :

The major Axis Powers were around the globe, and killed
Germany, Italy, and Japan. over 60 million. The world was
During the course of the war, never the same again after
German forces advanced World War I I .
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 Allied Powers
rendered to Allied forces in France, Britain,
August the same year. United States of America,
Finally, World War II had Soviet Union and
ended. It had changed the China.
lives of millions of people
MILESTONES IN WORLD HISTORY
What were the consequences wounded, many while valiantly
of the Japanese attack on attempting to repulse the
Pearl Harbour? attack. The day after the

W
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.
was over. The United States had
The attack struck a : critical remai ned neutral in World War
blow against the US . Pacific I I till then.
fleet. Much of it was rendered Pearl Harbour changed all
'
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
destroyed. avenge the attack on Pearl
A total of 2,403 Americans Harbour- and were finally
were killed and 1 , 1 78 were successful .
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

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
ar weapons warfare. However, the Japanese did not
programme surrender. So three days later, on August
during World 9th , 1 945, another US bomber dropped a
War II. But second atomic bomb, 'Fat Man', on
because of lack Nagasaki. This broke the Japanese. On
of resources, August 1 5th , 1 945, Emperor Hirohito
they could not announced his country's surrender.
develop an The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and
atom bomb in Nagasaki brought World War II to an
time. end. The bombings killed thousands.
Ryan Thomas The suffering of the Japanese people did
not end even then, but has continued for
decades.
76 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
assists over 34
Why is the formation of the UN a his million refugees,
toric event? and works with

The UN is an i nternational organisa 1 40 nations to

combat climate
tion of sovereign states, made up of change. The UN
nearly every country in the world. It protects human
was created in 1 945, in the wake of rights through 80
World War II, so as to avoid another different treaties
such terrible war. and declarations.
Fifty states signed the UN Charter,
and became the founding members of
the UN. Currently, the U N has 1 93 munity-for achieving
member states. The U N has four main these goals. The UN as
goals. The first purpose is to keep well as several of its
peace throughout the world. The sec agencies and officials
ond goal is to develop friendly rela have won the Nobel
tions between countries. The third is Peace Prize at different
to assist nations in encouraging times.
human rights, helping the poor, This humanitarian
improving literacy, and preventing organisation has an
hunger and disease. Finally, the UN i mportant influence on
aims to operate as a centre - a com- the world today.
78 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
J) peaceful revolution
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 How has the i nvention of the tran
circuit which is a single sistor changed the way we live?
chip with multiple tran
sistors or other com
ponents like resistors.
A transistor is an electronic
component that can be used as
The first computer
an amplifier, or as a switch. The
chips had several thou
transistor revolutionised the field
sand transistors on
of electronics, and paved the
each chip to perform
way for smaller and cheaper
calculations.
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, dominat-

80 Tell MeWhy
ed the industry for the What is the significance of January
next 30 years. By 26th, 1 950?

J
1 954,Texas I nstru
ments developed the anuary 26th , 1 950 is the day India
first transistor made became a sovereign, democratic
from silicon. republic. India became independent
Today in electronic on August 1 5th, 1 947.
devices we use comput A new constitution of India was
er chip, also called chip, drafted by a committee headed by
integrated circuit or Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and it is the long
small wafer of semicon est constitution in the world.
ductor material embed Although the draft was presented
ded with integrated on November 4, 1 947, it took 2 years,
circuitry. Chips com 1 1 months and 1 8 days for it to be
prise the processing and finalised.
memory units of modern The Constitution of I ndia formally
digital computers. came into force on 26th January 1 950.
As transistor compo The day is celebrated as Republic
nents have shrunk, the Day in I ndia every year.
number of chips have The celebrations last for three days,
doubled about every 1 8 and for every Indian this is a time
months, from a few when the heart is filled with love for
thousand to more than the motherland, and the head is held
one billion. 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

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
Recipe Book we will grow to be.
DNA, or DNA, which is found i n every cell of
deoxyribonucleic every living thing, is made of chemical
acid is a long substances that are linked together
molecule that like a chain. It has a complex structure.
contains our
unique genetic Wow . . .
code. Like a more secrets
reveal ed . . .
recipe book, it
holds the instruc
tions for making
aU the proteins in
our bodies.
Radha Nair

82 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
 Today is Mary conducted the excava
not a good day. tions and was the actual finder
We found j us t of the archaeological evi
one sku l l .
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
i nids in Tanzania. The
footprints were estimated to be
Why will the world always 3.5 million years old.
remember Mary and Louis This indicated that humans
Leakey? began walking upright much

M
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
early humans. understanding of our origins.
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 the Sea of Tranquility! As Arm

July 1 6th, with the world watch strong made his way down the
ing, the Apollo 1 1 spacecraft lunar module's ladder, a televi
had taken off from Kennedy sion camera recorded his pro
Space Centre with astronauts gress, and beamed the signal
Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, back to Earth, where millions
and Michael Collins aboard. watched in great anticipation.
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
Why was the satellite Aryab was built by the Indian Space
hata a landmark in I ndian Research Organisation or
space research? ISRO.

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
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

milestone in human history as it cat
alysed the rapid development of
Alfred Nobel 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
r
1
Record
in 1 896, he left a will dedicating his
fortune to create a unique prize
Marie Curie was the rewarding the outstanding contribu
only person who tions in various fields. Prizes were
won Nobel Prizes in instituted in the fields of physics,
both physics and chemistry, medicine, peace, and lit
chemistry. 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
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.

iii! A Tough Regime

JI
I
1111
STAR FACT
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.

90 Tell MeWhy
What was the result of the This freedom encouraged
breakup of the Soviet U nion? some of the Soviet states to

The breakup of the Soviet

demand their freedom . Soon,
more states joined them in
Union started in the late 1 980s demanding independence and
and was complete when the in December 1 99 1 , the Soviet
country broke up into 1 5 inde U nion was dissolved. It was
pendent states on December replaced by 1 5 new independ
26th, 1 99 1 . ent nations. The collapse of
When Mikhail Gorbachev the Soviet U nion changed the
took over as General Secre world's balance of power and
tary of the Soviet Union in ended an era of competing
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 91
Why was the abolition of apart carry 'pass books' with their
heid a victory for humanity? fingerprints, photo, and infor

Apartheid refers to a political

mation if they wanted to enter
into areas that were considered
system of government that 'non-black'.
existed in South Africa between This was a very unfair sys
1 948 and 1 994. tem , and the blacks, led by a
Under this system, the races great leader named Nelson
were separated. The Europe Mandela rebelled against it.
ans or whites, who were in the The rest of the world also sup
minority, ruled the country. ported the struggle by the
The majority of the population blacks for equality and finally
consisted of native Africans, in 1 994, the system of apart
who were the original inhabit heid was withdrawn. It was a
ants of the country. They were great victory, not just for the
termed 'blacks', and were kept blacks of South Africa, but for
apart from the whites. humanity itself.
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?

C
might live; go to school, and
what jobs he or she might hold. handrayaan-1 , the I ndian
Black people were forced to spacecraft, was India's first
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 Chandrayaan-2 will
Vehicle , PSLV-XL C 1 1 , suc be ISRO's second mis
cessfully lau nched Chan sion to the moon. A
d rayaan- 1 spacecraft into orbit. moon rover will be
Excellent quality pictures of the sent up. Moving on
lunar su rface were taken and wheels on the lunar
surface, the rover will
relayed back to Eart h . Chan
pick up samples of
drayaan- 1 was i n operation till
rocks, analyse them
August 2009. With the success
and relay the data to
of the mission, India joined a
an orbiting spacecraft.
select band of countries who
have u ndertaken lunar m i ssions.
Chandrayaan-1 has success way for u ndertaking fur
fully demonstrated India's ability ther missions not just to
in carrying out highly complex the Moon but beyond it as
space missions. It has paved the well.
MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY 93
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o
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94
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PHOTO QUIZ 7
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95
 Winners of the Photo Quiz-4
.PHof(f aulz -4 WINNERS held in the April issue of
....... '". ' ,. Tell Me Why.
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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.
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Flat 3. Block 1. Sahyadri Apartments. Plot 5. P468. 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. 9. Aditi Singh
4. Aastha Patodi 201 Dasmesh Apartment. Behind AG Office.
13 Chatrapati Nagar. Near Airport Road. Indore. MP. N.O.P. Doranda. Ranchi.
5. Sailaja Priyadarshini 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.

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96 Tell MeWhy
 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
Question sent by:
Aditi Gupta, on e-mail.
tre of plaster production, and hence the
material came to be known as plaster of
Send us your questions Paris.
E mail: tellmewhy@mmp.in Indhu Thomas

MILESTONES IN WORLD H ISTORY 97

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