August 28 carries the anniversary of one of the 20th century's defining speeches and the birth of one of Urdu literature's most celebrated poets.

On this day

  1. Sir William Herschel and Caroline Herschel. Wellcome V0002731
    1789William Herschel discovered Saturn's moon Enceladus using his 40-foot reflecting telescope, then the largest in the world.Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
  2. Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann in a crowd.) - NARA - 542015 - Restoration
    1963More than 200,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech.Rowland Scherman / Adam Cuerden via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
  3. With Firaq Gorakhpuri
    1896IndiaUrdu poet and critic Firaq Gorakhpuri (Raghupati Sahay) was born in Gorakhpur; he later won the Jnanpith Award for his collection Gul-e-Naghma.Professor syed fazle imam rizvi via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Did you know

Firaq Gorakhpuri qualified for the elite British Indian Civil Service but resigned to join Gandhi's Non-Cooperation Movement, and wrote much of his most acclaimed Urdu poetry while jailed for it.

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