This Day in History: March 25

Birth of Norman Borlaug

Norman Ernest Borlaug hailed as the father of the Green Revolution and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate was born in 1914 in Iowa, USA. His groundbreaking research and dedication to combating hunger and poverty revolutionized agriculture. Through his work, he developed high-yielding, pest-resistant dwarf varieties of wheat. In 1960, these varieties, collectively termed “dwarf wheat”, were introduced to India and Pakistan, regions grappling with drought and famine. This introduction sparked what is now recognized as the Green Revolution, doubling farmers’ yields. Currently, Borlaug’s wheat varieties cover approximately 18.7 million acres worldwide. In 2006, Borlaug authored the book ‘The Man Who Fed the World’. For his remarkable contributions, Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

Pranayraj Vangari Birthday

Pranayraj Vangari, a filmmaker, Telugu drama researcher, and administrator of Telugu Wikipedia, was born in 1985 in Mothkur, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. He serves as the general secretary of “Popcorn Theater,” an initiative aimed at engaging audiences through innovative theatrical productions. Vangari achieved a significant milestone by writing 365 articles in 365 consecutive days, a feat known as ‘Wikivatsaram’, making him the first Wikipedian to accomplish this globally. Continuing this endeavour, he wrote 1000 articles in 1000 days, completing the task on June 4, 2019. As of March 1, 2022, Wangari has authored 3015 articles over 2000 days.

Also Read: This Day in History: March 24

Sriramoju Haragopal Birthday

Sriramoju Haragopal, a distinguished poet, writer, educator, and historical researcher from Telangana, was born in 1957 in Aleru, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. In 2022, he was honoured with the Kaloji Sahitya Award by the Telangana Government on the occasion of Telangana Language Day. Haragopal has contributed numerous literary articles and reviews to various publications and actively engages with literary organizations. His poetic works have been published in several volumes.

Death of Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a prominent leader in the Indian freedom movement and a respected journalist, passed away in Kanpur in 1931. He was born on October 26, 1890, in Hathgaon village, Fatehpur district. Vidyarthi played a pivotal role in the Indian National Congress and was actively involved in the Non-Cooperation Movement. He also translated Victor Hugo’s novel “Ninety-Three” and gained fame as the founding editor of the Hindi newspaper “Pratap”.

Also Read: This Day in History: March 23

Other Historical Events on March 25

• Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, was discovered by Christiaan Huygens in 1655.

• Astronaut Sergei Krikalev Krikalev returned to Earth in 1992 after spending 10 months aboard the Mir space station.

• P. Shanmugam, who served as the 13th Chief Minister of Pondicherry (Puducherry) state, was born in 1927.

• Indian scientist Vasant Gowariker was born in 1933 in Pune, Maharashtra. He is known as the father of the Monsoon.

• Manikonda Chalapathi Rau, a journalist and former editor of the National Herald, passed away in 1983. He was born in Visakhapatnam in 1908.