450th Birth Anniversary of Galileo

 

Date of Issue : 5 April 2014

Italian Post issued a stamp on 5th April, commemorating Galileo Galilei on the 450^th anniversary of his birth.

Galileo Galilei, often known mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the “father of modern observational astronomy”, the “father of modern physics”, the “father of science”, and “the Father of Modern Science”.

His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments.

Galileo’s championing of heliocentrism was controversial within his lifetime, when most subscribed to either geocentrism or the Tychonic system. He met with opposition from astronomers, who doubted heliocentrism due to the absence of an observed stellar parallax. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that heliocentrism was false and contrary to scripture, placing works advocating the Copernican system on the index of banned books and forbidding Galileo from advocating heliocentrism. Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII, thus alienating not only the Pope but also the Jesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until this point.

He was tried by the Holy Office, then found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, was forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. It was while Galileo was under house arrest that he wrote one of his finest works, Two New Sciences, in which he summarised the work he had done some forty years earlier, on the two sciences now called kinematics and strength of materials.

The stamp shows the statue of Galileo Galilei sculpted by Aristodemo Costoli, on display in the Courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Stamp on Michelangelo’s 450th Death Anniversary

Issue of a regular stamp on 23 March 2014, belonging to the "Il Patrimonio artistico e culturale italiano" (Italian Artistic and Cultural Heritage) series, dedicated to Michelangelo on the 450th anniversary of his death. The stamp shows  detail of the statue of “David”, sculpted by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504 and held at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.

 

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New stamp on Abraham Lincoln…

 

Date of Issue : February 12, 2014

The statue of Abraham Lincoln housed inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., is among the most recognizable statues in the U.S. Now it's featured on a new postage stamp! issued today by US Postal Service. With this striking stamp, the U.S. Postal Service honors one of America's greatest presidents with the Abraham Lincoln 21-cent Stamps.

The stamp features a black-and-white photograph of a close-up view of the statue of Abraham Lincoln by sculptor Daniel Chester French housed inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Art director and stamp designer Derry Noyes selected a detail of the original image in order to highlight the President's features most effectively.

French's iconic statue enshrines the sixteenth President as he looked during the Civil War. Composed of 28 blocks of white Georgia marble, the statue is an immense 19-foot tall figure. Two of Lincoln's great speeches — the Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address — adorn the north and south interior walls of the memorial, reminding visitors of his powerful and universal ideals.

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S LETTER TO HIS SON'S TEACHER...

 

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader…
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,
Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.
Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books…

But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.
In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat…
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong…
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon…
Teach him to listen to all men…
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.
Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness…
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.
Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient…
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order,
but see what you can do…
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!

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Tributes to Subhash Chandra Bose

 

Today is Birth anniversary of great Indian freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose. He gave the fmous slogan ‘ Jai Hind ’. This  post is a philatelic Tribute to the great leader and freedom fighter.

Subhash Chandra Bose was one of India's greatest freedom fighter. He was the founder of the Indian National Army, popularly known as 'Azad Hind Fauj'. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had visited London during pre-independence period to discuss the future of India, with the members of the Labor party. His sudden disappearance from Taiwan, led to surfacing of various theories, concerning the possibilities of his survival.

  

Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23 January, 1897 in Cuttack (Orissa) to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Janakinath Bose was one of the successful lawyer in Cuttack and received the title of "Rai Bahadur". He, later became a member of the Bengal Legislative Council.      He passed his B.A. in Philosophy from the Presidency College in Calcutta. He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda's teachings and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student. He also adored Vivekananda as his spiritual Guru.

 

Indian theme on foreign stamps

Ramayan story on stamps

on 14th June 2013, a stamp of 100Th Years of Indonesia Archaeological Institute shows Ramayana story (cerita ramayana) as carved on the inner walls of the Prambanan Temple(largest Hindu temple of Indonesia). Ramayana ballet is regularly performed in the open theatre of this temple.

 

The above stamp issued by Yemen, depicts Rama and Lakshman and god Shiva. It was issued as part of the set “Asian Paintings”.

Courtesy : Leeza Padhi – Cuttack and Eli Moallem - Israel

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Swami Vivekanand’s Birth anniversary

 

 

Today is Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanada,India’s  greatest philosopher,  monk and chief disciple of the 19th-century saint Ramakrishna. Srilanka Post issued a commemorative postage stamp on 7 June 2013 in celebration of 150th Birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanada. India Post issued 4 stamps and a special sheetlet on  12 January 2013 on year long celebration of Swami Vivekanand’s Birth anniversary.

Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined towards spirituality. He was influenced by his guru, Ramakrishna, from whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the United States, England and Europe.

 

In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saint and his birthday is celebrated as National Youth Day in India.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the year long  150th birth anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda on Sunday.The celebrations had begun on January 12, 2013, when commemorative postage stamps and coins were released.

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Veteran philatelist Shri G Madan Mohan Das passed away….

 

    

Shri G Madan Mohan Das at SIPEX 2011, Chennai

Shri G Madan Mohan Das Veteran Philatelist of South India Philatelists’ Association passed away yesterday . Indian Philately has lost a great philatelist who actively worked for the promotion of philately throughout his life and organized many stamp exhibitions. He was Past President of SIPA  and  editor of  SIPA Bulletin. Shri Das had won many International awards and was appointed Commissioner and member of Jury in stamp exhibitions. Our deepest condolences to all the family members and South India Philatelists’ Association.

 

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New Stamp from India..

 

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh released a commemorative stamp in honour of Sardar Beant Singh, former Chief Minister of Punjab, in New Delhi on 17th December 2013.

Beant Singh (19 February 1922 - 31 August 1995) was an Indian National Congress politician and the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995. He entered the Assembly as an independent candidate in 1969 and later joined the Congress.

Born in undivided Punjab Beant Singh migrated to the Bilaspur village in the Doraha tehsil of the Ludhiana district. Thereafter he shifted to village Kotli in the same district. He completed his education from the Government College Lahore. At the age of 23, he joined the army but after two years of service, decided to make a switch to politics and social work. He was assassinated along with 17 others including three commandos at the Punjab Secretariat on 31st August, 1995 in a bomb blast.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

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Tributes to Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela…

 

South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela died aged 95 at his Johannesburg home on Thursday 5th December, after a prolonged lung infection, plunging his nation and the world into mourning for a man hailed by global leaders as a moral giant. The Nobel Peace laureate  led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

 

 

He was the first black South African to hold the office, and the first elected in a fully representative, multiracial election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as the President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was the Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.

Having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Soviet Order of Lenin and the Bharat Ratna, he is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata("Father"); he is often described as "the father of the nation".

Many countries commemorated him on postage stamps Some of them are featured here . This post is  philatelic tribute to the greatest anti apartheid hero of all time !! May his soul rest in Peace !!

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
- Nelson Mandela

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New stamps from India

Stamp on Sai Baba

India Post  released a commemorative stamp on Sathya Sai Baba on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary celebrations to be held at Puttaparthi of Anantapur district on November 23.

 

Union minister of state for communication & information technology (IT) Killi Krupa Rani released a commemorative stamp on Sathya Sai Baba on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary celebrations held at Puttaparthi (Anantapur district) on 23rd November 2013.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba (born as Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 1926 – d. 24 April 2011) was a highly revered spiritual leader and world teacher, whose life and message are inspiring millions of people throughout the world. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. The Sathya Sai Organisation, founded by Sathya Sai Baba "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement" has over 1,200 Sathya Sai Centers in more than 100 countries. Through this organisation, Sathya Sai Baba established a network of free hospitals, clinics, drinking water projects and schools. Sathya Sai's devotees are spread across the world.

Sathya Sai Baba had died at Puttaparthi on April 24, 2011 due to ill-health. As Sathya Sai's devotees are spread across the world, the Sathya Sai Central Trust moved a proposal to issue a commemorative stamp on Sai Baba last year.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

Stamp on Intelligence Bureau

Date of Issue : 23 November 2013

A commemorative stamp on  Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s internal  Intelligence  agency was also released today by India Post.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency.It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shrouded in secrecy, the IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the military.

Understanding of the shadowy workings of the IB is largely speculative. Many a times even their own family members are unaware of their whereabouts. One known task of the IB is to clear licences to amateur radio enthusiasts. The IB also passes on intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police. The Bureau also grants the necessary security clearances to Indian diplomats and judges before they take the oath. On rare occasions, IB officers interact with the media during a crisis situation. The IB is also rumoured to intercept and open around 6,000 letters daily. It also has an email spying system similar to FBI's Carnivore system. The Bureau is also authorised to conduct wire tapping without a warrant.

Japan Spain Joint Issue

 

400th Anniversary of the Relations between Japan and Spain

In recognition of floriculture and the plant species that are cultivated in such disparate places as Spain and Japan, the postal services of the two countries have released a joint set of stamps dedicated to the Geranium and Lespedeza Thunbergii. The two stamps are joined along the serration.

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Tributes to C.V. Raman

 

Birth Anniversary  - 7th  November

Today is Birth Anniversary of great Indian Scientist, CV Raman. Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman,(7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was a physicist whose work was influential in the growth of science in India.

He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for the discovery that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect.

Comores 1977 stamp featuring Noble Prize winners. CV Raman is also on the stamp.

: Kenneth Sequeira – Dubai

New stamps on Christmas

  

Date of Issue : 2 November 2013

Gibraltar Post issued a beautiful set of five stamps for this year’s Christmas.

 

Christmas and New Year stamps from  Spain

Spanish Correos issued a set of two stamp celebrating Christmas and New Year. The first stamp depicts a traditional nativity scene. Happy New Year! is the message featuring in the second Christmas stamp which is illustrated with the clock from the Puerta del Sol in Madrid and the traditional twelve grapes.

Spanish custom

A custom in Madrid in the late 19th century imposed the intake of twelve grapes at the chimes of the clock in the Puertadel Sol. The practice soon spread throughout Spain and seems to have its origins in a surplus of grapes in the area of Alicante and Murcia.A grape is eaten at each chime with the wish for a prosperous and happy new year.

This Spanish tradition became popular in Latin American countries where in some places fresh grapes are replaced by raisins like in Argentina. The arrival of the New Year is celebrated differently in each country. In Italy for example, it is customary to make a lentil soup and in Greece a cake is baked with a coin inside which promises a year of happiness for the person who finds it.

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Special Covers

Tamil Naidu Postal Circle of India Post released a Special Cover on 26 June2013 on Anjuham Higher Secondary School Chennai.

: Ankit Agarwal - Pune

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Otto Wichterle - Inventor of Contact lenses..

 

Date of Issue : 16 October 2013

Czech Post issued a postage stamp commemorating the inventor of Contact lenses, Prof.  Otto Wichterle.   This world-renowned scientist became famous for silon and soft contact lenses which he invented.

He was born on 27 October 1913 into a rich business family in Prostějov. At the age of 6, he almost died from a persistent fever. He was therefore home-schooled. After his recovery he went directly to the fifth year and, at the young age of 9, he was admitted to a state-run grammar school. He graduated with honours. He wanted to study mathematics and physics at university, his was choice was therefore between mechanical engineering and chemistry. He decided to study chemical technology engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague.

He wrote his thesis under the tutelage of Professor Votoček, an important chemist and co-author of the Czech chemical nomenclature. His idea of a scientific study free of any commercial or political interests had a strong impact on Wichterle. Wichterle continued his studies at the school of medicine, which offered him the possibility to join a new discipline, biochemistry.

Following the events on 17 November 1939, when all Czech universities were closed by the Nazis, he took up a job in Baťa Shoe Company’s chemical research laboratory. He began with the research of Nylon 66, a synthetic polymer which was not suitable for the fibre spinning process. His previous experience helped him find a treatment which made nylon suitable for fibre applications. This led to the industrial production of silon, a synthetic material used mainly in men’s socks and women’s tights.

But his best known invention are gel contact lenses. The start-up of their production suffered from many problems, inaccuracies and low yields. In 1961, Wichterle used a Merkur modelling kit for children and a gramophone motor to build a prototype of the production machine; the process was eventually simplified and ready for large-scale production. In 1965, his invention attracted large U.S. companies which started the production of contact lenses abroad.

Wichterle’s political neutrality caused him a lifetime of problems, especially during the communist regime. He had to wait until after 1989 for well-deserved honours and awards. In 1990, he was elected President of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. He remained in the office until the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993. In 1993, Charles University awarded him a degree honoris causa and a planet in our solar system was named after him. Starting from 2002, talented scientists younger than 35 years may receive an Otto Wichterle Award granted by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. He died on 18 August 1998 in Stražicko.

200th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig

Date of Issue : 2 October 2013

The Battle of Leipzig, fought on 16-19 October 1813 in Germany, was the largest and decisive battle of the Napoleonic wars. It was a clash between the army of the French Emperor Napoleon and the allied armies of Austria, Prussia, Russia and Sweden. The grandiose battle involved over half a million soldiers and more than two thousand cannons, making it the largest battle in the world prior to World War I. The coalition army, under the command of Karl von Schwarzenberg and several other princes, had over 300,000 troops. It outnumbered the Napoleon’s army of less than 200,000 troops.

Both armies achieved no success on the first day of the battle which ended in a stalemate. The second day was used by both armies to reorganise their forces and wait for reinforcements. The French received only 14,000 troops as reinforcements; the coalition was strengthened by the arrival of 145,000 troops. On the third day, the coalition army launched a huge assault from all sides. In over nine hours of fighting, both sides suffered heavy casualties. Napoleon saw that the battle was a lost cause and he began to withdraw his army across the river Elster. However, because of a mistake of his own commanders, the bridge over the Elster which was the only exit route was destroyed before the entire army was able to cross the river. Those who survived began to flee towards France. Shortly afterwards, Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba. The defeat dealt a harsh blow against Napoleon himself, who was finally defeated two years later in the Battle of Waterloo.

The Czech troops, who defeated Napoleon in the battle of Chlumec nearby Ústí nad Labem prior to the battle of Leipzig, considered the victory as their own triumph. Even more so because one of the commanders-in-chief of the Allied army, field marshal Karl von Schwarzenberg, was considered as a Czech prince. None of the battles fought before or after the Leipzig campaign involved so many Czech high ranking commanders including the highest ones (John Joseph Wenceslaus, Count Radetzky of Radetz was Schwarzenberg’s chief of staff). A memorial for the battle, the “Völkerschlachtdenkmal”, was unveiled in 1913 in Leipzig.

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