Today is Thursday; 24th of the Iranian month of Bahman 1398 solar hijri; corresponding to 18th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani 1441 lunar hijri; and February 13, 2020, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.
1497 lunar years ago, on this day 54 years before Hijra the blessed marriage took place in Mecca, of Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttaleb and Amenah bint Wahb (peace upon them), the parents of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). It is worth noting that the Prophet’s parents and grandparents, as well as all his ancestors descending from the Prophets Ishmael and Abraham (peace upon them), and extending right up to the Father of mankind, Adam, were upright monotheists, who had neither worshipped idols nor had ever deviated from the path of the One and Only Creator. Abdullah was a pious handsome young man from whose forehead a light shone out, indicating that he would be the father of a very blessed person. Many ladies of Arabia sent their proposals for marriage to him but Abdullah left the matter to his father to decide. Abdul-Muttaleb, who knew the divine promise that his grandson would be the Almighty’s Last and Greatest Messenger, approached the Bani Zuhrah clan and sought the hand of the chaste and virtuous Amenah for his son. The nuptials were celebrated in Mecca with great rejoicing, and on consummating of the marriage, the light was transferred to Amenah from Abdullah, and within a year resulted in the blessed birth of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA).  
1079 solar years ago, on this day in 942 AD, Mohammad ibn Ra’eq, a military officer of Khazar origin who exploited the weakness of the Abbasid caliphate to become the first "Amir al-Umara” (Commander of Commanders), and has earned lasting notoriety for impairing the agriculture of Iraq for several centuries by blocking the Nahrawan Canal in his fight against a rival, was assassinated.
672 lunar years ago, on this day in 769 AH, the acclaimed Persian poet Mahmoud ibn Amir Yameen od-Din, popularly known as Ibn Yameen Faryumadi, passed away at the age of 84. Born in Faryumad near Sabzevar in Khorasan, northeastern Iran, he is said to have been the court poet of the Shi’a Muslim Sarbedar dynasty. Over 5,000 of his poems, mainly aphorisms, have survived, including qasidas (or panegyrics) and mathnawis (or long odes) of a philosophical and mystical nature.
671 solar years ago, on this day in 1349 AD, Christians expelled all Jews from Burgsdorf, Switzerland, because of the age-old enmity with the followers of Judaism for their slandering of Prophet Jesus and his mother, the Virgin Mary.
494 lunar years ago, on this day in 947 AH, a treaty was signed in Istanbul between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, ending the 3-year naval war, with the Venetians paying three million gold liras as war damages to the Turks, in addition to ceding all islands in the Aegean Sea as well as key mainland holdings in the Peloponnese Peninsula.
422 lunar years ago, on this day in 1019 AH, famous Iranian scholar, Seyyed Noorollah Shoushtari Mar’ashi, was martyred in Agra, India, at the age of 63, due to the jealousy of pseudo jurists, who framed up false charges against him for being promoted to "Qazi al-Quzzat” (Chief Judge) of the Moghal Empire. Born in Shoushtar in Iran, after initial studies in his hometown, he travelled to Mashhad in Khorasan for higher studies at the age of 23. In 993 AH, he migrated to Hindustan (northern subcontinent) on the invitation of Emperor Jalal od-Din Akbar Shah, and steadily rose to become the Chief Judge in Lahore. A prolific writer, he wrote several books, including "Majalis al-Momineen” and "Ahqaq al-Haq”, before being martyred on insinuation of the enemies of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt.
281 solar years ago, on this day in 1739 AD, the historic Battle of Karnaal was fought near a village of the same name, some 110 km north of Delhi, between the Iranian army of Nader Shah Afshar and the army of the Indian Moghal ruler, Mohammad Shah, known as "Rangeeleh” or colourful, because of his patronizing of singers and dancers, at the expense of negligence of state affairs. The Iranians won a decisive victory losing only 2500 soldiers, while the death toll of the Indian army was over 20,000.
254 solar years ago, on this day in 1766 AD, Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer, was born in Westcott, Surrey. Although an Anglican Christian priest, his theories, as is evident from his work "An Essay on the Principle of Population”, betrayed his lack of belief in the Infinite Power of the Almighty Creator. He wrote "population would always outrun the food supply and would result in famine, disease or war to reduce the number of people.” His views became controversial, across economic, political, social and scientific thoughts, while his reputation as economist dropped for the rest of his life. He died in 1834.
160 lunar years ago, on this day in 1281 AH, the great scholar, Ayatollah Shaikh Morteza Ansari Dezfuli, passed away in holy Najaf, Iraq, at the age of 67 Most of his works centre on Fiqh (Jurisprudence). His most important works are the "Rasa’el” and the "Makaseb”, of which the latter is a book of detailed Islamic Commercial Law, and is still taught today in the Hawza.
152 lunar years ago, on this day in 1289 AH, the concession to exploit Iran’s vital sources was granted to a British colonialist agent, Julius De Reuters, by the Qajarid King, Nasser od-Din Shah. It included exploitation of Iran’s mines and forests, building railway, and setting up a bank, post office and telegraph lines to serve London’s vested interests. The people and religious scholars, led by Mullah Ali Kani, unanimously opposed the grant to Reuters. As the people led by the ulema mounted their opposition, the concession was annulled, but as compensation Reuters was given the right to set up the Imperial Bank and print currency notes in Iran for sixty years.
137 solar years ago, on this day in 1883 AD, German songwriter and musician, Richard Wagner, died at the age of 70. He started his career by writing operas. During the political developments of the late 1850s, he joined the revolutionaries but their failure made him leave Germany and live in exile for 13 years.
109 solar years ago, on this day in 1911, the famous Urdu poet of the subcontinent, Faiz Ahmed Farooq, popular by his penname "Faiz”, was born in Karachi in undivided India. Among his important works are "Naqsh-e Faryadi”, "Dast-e Saba”, and "Zindan-Namah”.  
89 solar years ago, on this day in 1931 AD, British Viceroy, Lord Irwin, inaugurated the new capital of British India, which four years earlier in 1927 was officially named "New Delhi”, since it was built on the outskirts of the old Indian Muslim capital Delhi.
81 solar years ago, on this day in 1939 AD, Akbar Adibi, Iran’s Father of Electronics, was born in Songhor in Kermanshah Province. Adibi is the author of several technical books such as "Pulse Techniques”, "Theory and Technology of Semiconductor Devices”, and "Digital Electronics”. He believed that electronics and VLSI technology could help Iran lower its dependency on oil.
75 solar years ago, on this day in 1945 AD, during the closing months of World War 2 warplanes of the Allied forces began bombing the German city of Dresden. The British used 873 heavy bombers in Operation Thunderclap to firebomb the city, killing 135,000 people. A look at aerial maps of the city before and after the terror attacks clearly shows the large white oil tanks owned by British-controlled Shell Oil. These tanks remained entirely untouched by the bombardment.
38 solar years ago, on this day in 1982 AD, the Río Negro massacre took place in Guatemala, resulting in the killing of more than 5,000 Amerindians of the Maya Achi tribe in and around the village of Río Negro alone, because of the refusal of the natives to vacate their ancestral lands.
29 solar years ago, on this day in 1991 AD, during the Persian Gulf War, US warplanes fired two laser-guided smart bombs to destroy the Amiriyah civilian shelter in Baghdad, killing over 400 men, women and children on the pretext of targeting a military communications outpost. The US is the most blatant violator of human rights and known for its wanton killing of world people.
(Courtesy: IRIB English Radio – http://parstoday.com/en)