Today, The Times of India, the world's most widely read English-language daily broadsheet newspaper, was launched in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce Today.
The daily was formed in 1838 in Mumbai (then Bombay) under the British Raj to serve the British citizens of western India, after Lord Metcalfe's Act of 1835, which loosened limits on the freedom of the Indian press. J.E. Brennan, a retired Irish doctor who was also secretary of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce, was its first editor. Initially, the daily was produced twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, under the guidance of Maharashtrian Reformist Raobahadur Narayan Dinanath Velkar, and carried news from Britain and throughout the world.
Related On This Day
Today, in Springfield, Illinois, American socialite Mary Todd marries Illinois Congressman and lawyer Abraham Lincoln in 1842.
Today, Barack Obama is elected President of the United States, becoming the first African-American to do so, beating Republican contender John McCain.
Today, the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 in 1957, with space dog Laika, a mostly-Siberian husky, onboard, becoming the first animal in orbit.
Chevrolet officially joins the automotive market in 1911, competing with the Ford Model T.
Today is 1933. Amartya Sen is an Indian economist and Nobel laureate who was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.
Today! Akbar succeeds his father Humayun as Sultan of Delhi in 1556.
Matthew McConaughey, an American actor, was born today in Uvalde, Texas, in 1969.
In the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, Hindu Emperor of North India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya is defeated by Mughal Emperor Akbar's army, who capture and eventually behead Hem Chandra.
Today, Howard Carter discovers Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt in 1922.
Tilda Swinton, a British actress, was born in London, England in 1960.
Chittaranjan Das, an Indian lawyer and politician who founded the Swaraj Party, was born in Bikrampur, British India, in 1869.
Tabu [Tabassum Hashmi], an Indian actress, was born today in Hyderabad, India, in 1972.
Kendall Jenner, an American model and television personality, was born in Los Angeles, California in 1995.
Shakuntala Devi, an Indian writer and mental calculator known as the "Human Computer," was born today in Bangalore, Mysore, British India, in 1929.
Vivien Leigh, an English actress, was born in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, India, in 1913.
Bryan Adams, a Canadian singer, was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1959.
Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer, star batsman, and captain of India, was born in Delhi, India in 1988.