Vasudev Balwant Phadke remembered on birth anniversary; key events recorded on November 4

The birth anniversary of Vasudev Balwant Phadke, known as the first revolutionary, is observed today. He is called the first armed revolutionary of India's freedom struggle. He was born in 1845 and died on February 17, 1883.

Phadke stirred discontent in the minds of his countrymen against the oppressive British rule and exploitation. He gathered young men from the Ramoshi, Bhil and Koli communities, built a strong revolutionary organisation and directly challenged the British government.

The money he raised by raiding British treasuries was used mainly to help famine-stricken people and for revolutionary work. The British eventually arrested him and held him in a jail in the Andamans, where he endured torture with fierce patriotism and gave up his life for the country. His boundless sacrifice and valour continue to inspire every Indian to serve the nation.

Several events are recorded in history on November 4. The Deccan Sabha was founded in Pune in 1896. In 1918, during the First World War, Austria and Hungary surrendered to Italy. In 1921, Japanese Prime Minister Hara Takashi was assassinated in Tokyo. In 1922, the main entrance to the tomb of King Tutankhamun in the famed pyramids was discovered.

In 1948, the Constituent Assembly, chaired by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, was presented with the draft Constitution. In 1980, Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent President Jimmy Carter to be elected the 40th President of the United States. In 1996, Dr Shriram Lagoo and Satyadev Dubey were honoured with the Natya Gaurav Puraskar by the Kala Gaurav Pratishthan. In 2000, singer Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was announced the Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikhar Puraskar for exceptional achievement in Hindustani classical music.

In 2001, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone premiered in London. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Black President of the United States.

Those born on this date include Aurangzeb (1618, died March 3, 1707), Sharadchandra Roy (1871), Jamnalal Bajaj (1884, died February 11, 1942), Harry Ferguson (1884, died October 25, 1960), Appasaheb Patwardhan (1894, died March 10, 1971), Janaki Ammal (1897, died February 4, 1984), Ruth Handler (1916, died April 27, 2002) and Ritwik Ghatak (1925, died February 6, 1976). Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal (1929, died October 6, 1971) and Shakuntala Devi (1929, died April 21, 2013) were also born on this day. Also born on November 4 were Ranjit Roy Chowdhury (1930), Vijaya Mehta (1934), Gopalkrishna Gandhi (1945), Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshminarasimhan (1945), Nig Powell (1950), Alhaj Maulana Ghosi Shah (1955), Milind Soman (1965), Tabu (1971) and Suhas Gopinath (1986).

Those who died on this date include Pandit Shambhu Maharaj (1970), Purushottam Vishwanath Bapat (1991), George Cline (1992), Yitzhak Rabin (1995), Nagarjun (1998), Malcolm Marshall (1999), S. M. Garge (2005, Pune) and Dilip Pardeshi (2011).