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Historical Event on 8/15/1947

India and Pakistan gain independence (dominion status). Lord Mountbatten becomes Governor General of India and Mohammad Ali Jinnah is appointed the Governor General of Pakistan. Independent India's first cabinet meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister held. Members of the first Cabinet were: 1. J. L. Nehru - PM, External and Commonwealth Relations and Scientific Research, 2. Sardar Patel - Home Information and Broadcasting and States, 3. Dr. Rajendra Praised - Food and Agriculture, 4. Maulana Azad - Education, 5. John Mathai - Railways and Transport, 6. Sardar Baldev Singh - Defence, 7. Jagjivan Ram - Labour, 8. C. H. Bhabha - Commerce, 9. R. A. Kidwai - Communications, 10. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur - Health, 11. B. R. Ambedkar - Law 12. R. K. Sanmukham Chetty - Finance, 13. Shyama Prasad Mookerji - Industries and Supplies, 14. N. V. Gadgil - Works, Mines and Power.

Other Historical Dates and Events
6/10/1890Sunday introduced as a weekly holiday.
2/2/1982Geet Sethi becomes the youngest Indian to win the National Billiards' crown at Madras.
1/2/1959Kirtivardhan Bhagwat Jha Azad, cricketer (Indian off-spin all-rounder in 7 Tests 1981-83), was born in Purnea, Bihar.
3/16/1912Gandhiji commends Gokhale's attempts for abolition of indenture system.
11/22/1928British King George confined to bed with congested lung; Queen to take over duties.
4/4/1905More than 10,000 people are feared to have perished in an earthquake that hit the northeast Indian province of Lahore during the night. The town of Dharmsala was almost completely razed to the ground with the entire population rendered homeless and sleeping out in icy conditions. Five hundred Gurkha soldiers were buried alive when their stonebuilt barracks collapsed on them. The towns of Kangra and Palampur have also been leveled to the ground by the worst natural disaster measured at 8 on Ricter Scale. In Lahore, 70 Hindus were killed, Muslim inhabitants were parading in the streets, weeping and offering up prayers with ceremonial rites. Several British administrators and missionaries were known to have been killed or injured. At Simla, Lady Curzon, wife of the Viceroy, had a close escape from death when a chimney crashed into the room in which she was sleeping.
4/4/1905Saint Namdev passed away.
5/11/1987President's rule imposed in Punjab.
5/22/1991Shripad Amrit Dange, veteran communist leader, passed away.
2/23/1980Prakash Padukone becomes the first Indian to win All-England Badminton Championship.