24 August in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons.24 August is the birth anniversary of Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar, Bal Gangadhar Kher, Shivram Hari Rajguru, Bina Das, and Deepti Bhagwan Sharma.
24 August is also observed as the death anniversary of R. G. Bhandarkar, and Radhakamal Mukerjee.
Birth Anniversary
24 August in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar (24 August 1872 – 14 October 1947), a renowned journalist and an enlightened writer of the Marathi language, was an associate of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar. He was the secretary of the ‘Home Rule League’ formed by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. In 1897, when Tilak was imprisoned for 18 months for criticizing the foreign government, he sent a message from jail that Kelkar would be the editor of both the letters. Even after coming from jail, Tilak took only the editing of ‘Keshari’ in his hands. In 1908, Tilak was imprisoned in Mandalay Jail in Burma (present-day Myanmar) after serving 6 years of imprisonment, then the burden of both the letters fell on Kelkar. When Tilak formed the Home Rule League after coming out of jail in 1914, Kelkar was also elected as its secretary. Kelkar also went to England in 1918 with the delegation of the Home Rule League. He was Born on 24 August 1872 in Mumbai.
Bal Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957), the famous national leader of India. He also became the Chief Minister of Maharashtra State twice. He was known as a lawyer and social worker. Gangadhar Kher was also India’s High Commissioner to Britain from 1952 to 1954. He was awarded the title of ‘Padma Vibhushan’ by the Government of India in 1954. When Swarajya Party was formed in 1923, he was the secretary of its Mumbai branch. But after the ‘Dandi Yatra’ of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi changed his mindset. He joined the movement and went to jail four times between 1930 and 1945. He was Born on 24 August 1957 in Maharashtra.
Shivram Hari Rajguru (24 August 1908 – 23 March 1931), India’s famous heroic freedom fighter. He was a close friend of Sardar Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. Rajguru kept this friendship till his death. The martyrdom of Rajguru given for the independence of the country got his name inscribed in golden letters in Indian history. The martyrdom of Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, and Sukhdev continues to inspire the youth of India even today. Rajguru Fed up with the reproach, left the house to save his self-respect. Then I thought that now that I am free from the shackles of home, there is no problem in cutting the shackles of Mother India. He kept on meeting different revolutionaries for several days. In the end, the boat of his revolution was crossed by Chandrashekhar Azad. Rajguru became a member of the ‘Hindustan Socialist Democratic Union’. Later in the party, he met Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev. Rajguru was greatly influenced by these two. He was Born on 24 August 1931 in India.
Bina Das (24 August 1911 – 26 December 1986) was the women revolutionaries of India. His inclination was towards public works from the very beginning. He founded the ‘Punyashram Sanstha’, which provided shelter to destitute women. Bina Das had contact with the revolutionaries of ‘Yugantar Dal’. At a convocation, he shot at the British governor Stanley Jackson, but in this act, the governor narrowly escaped, and Bina was arrested. After the formation of the Congress government in 1937, Bina Das was also released along with many Rajbandis. She was Born on 24 August 1911 in Uttarakhand.
Deepti Bhagwan Sharma, an Indian cricketer. SHe made his debut in international cricket on 28 November 2014 in ODIs against South Africa. She is a left-handed batsman and bowls right-arm medium pace. Deepti Bhagwan Sharma is an international cricketer who plays for the Indian women’s national cricket team. She is an all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm off break and is currently ranked 4th in the top all-rounders in the ICC Cricket Rankings. She was Born on 24 August 1997 in Utter Pradesh.
Read More: 21 August in Indian and World History
Death Anniversary
24 August in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
G. Bhandarkar (6 July 1837 – 24 August 1925), a famous historian, social reformer, and educationist of India. Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, an active member of the ‘All India Social Conference’ (All India Social Conference), supported widow marriage based on his research-based findings, playing an important role in the social movements of his time. Along with this, he also denounced the caste system and the evil practice of child marriage. As a scholar of ancient Sanskrit literature, he also wrote the first book on Sanskrit and the second book on Sanskrit, which is one of the earliest books to learn Sanskrit through the English medium. He died on 24 August 1925.
Radhakamal Mukerjee (7 December 1889 – 24 August 1968), a noted scholar of modern Indian culture and sociology. He had a keen interest in economics, sociology, psychology, ethics, philosophy, aesthetics, etc. Dr. Radhakamal Mukherjee had composed more than 50 texts on various subjects. He was a supporter of syncretism between both oriental and western thought streams. In 1955, Macmillan, the famous London publishing house, published a treatise in honor of Dr. Mukherjee. He died on 24 August 1968.
Read More: 21 August in Indian and World History
Notable events on 24 August in Indian and World History
24 August 1456 – The printing work of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.
24 August 1600 – The first ship of the East India Company ‘Hector’ reached the coast of Surat.
24 August 1690 – Job Charnock settled in Calcutta on this day.
24 August 1899 – Albert Claude, a Belgian-American cell biologist, medical doctor, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
24 August 1927 – Harry Markowitz, an American economist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
24 August 1936 – A. S. Byatt, a novelist, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
24 August 1969 – V V Giri became the fourth President of India.
24 August 1974 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the fifth President of India.
24 August 2006 – The International Astronomical Union revoked Pluto’s (Yama) planet status.
24 August 2011 – Chinese scientists have traced the origin of the Brahmaputra and Indus river.