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Adwaita
Adwaita (from , meaning "one and only" in Sanskrit) ( – 22 March 2006), also spelled Adwaitya or Addwaita, was a male Aldabra giant tortoise that lived in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India. At the time of his death in 2006, Adwaita was believed to be amongst the longest-living animals in the world. He may have been from Aldabra, an atoll in the Seychelles. This anecdotal report has not been confirmed. The animal was one of four tortoises that lived at Robert Clive's estate at Barrackpore, in the northern suburbs of Calcutta. Clive was said to have received the tortoises following his victory at the Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which the British East India Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, thereby securing India for Britain in the long run. Adwaita was transferred to the Alipore Zoo in Calcutta in 1875 or 1876 by Carl Louis Schwendler, the founder of the zoo. Adwaita lived in his enclosure in the zoo until his death on 22 March ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zoological Garden, Alipore
The Zoological Garden, Alipore (also informally called the Alipore Zoo or Kolkata Zoo) is India's oldest formally stated zoological park (as opposed to royal and British menageries) and a big tourist attraction in Kolkata, West Bengal. It has been open as a zoo since 1876, and covers . It is probably best known as the home of the Aldabra giant tortoise Adwaita, who was reputed to have been over 250 years old when he died in 2006. It is also home to one of the few captive breeding projects involving the Manipur brow-antlered deer. One of the most popular tourist attractions in Kolkata, it draws huge crowds during the winter season, especially during December and January. The highest attendance till date was on January 1, 2018 with 110,000 visitors. History The zoo had its roots in a private menagerie established by Governor General of India, Richard Wellesley, established around 1800 in his summer home at Barrackpore near Kolkata, as part of the ''Indian Natural History Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British East India Company (EIC) rule in Bengal. He began as a "writer" (the term used then in India for an office clerk) for the EIC in 1744, however after being caught up in military action during the fall of Madras, Clive joined the EIC's Bengal Army, private army. Clive rapidly rose through the military ranks of the EIC and was eventually credited with establishing Company rule in India, Company rule in Bengal by winning the Battle of Plassey in 1757. In return for supporting the Nawabs of Bengal, Nawab Mir Jafar as ruler of Bengal, Clive was guaranteed a jagir of £90,000 () per year, which was the rent the EIC would otherwise pay to the Nawab for their tax-farming concession. When Clive left India in Januar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Longest-living Organisms
This is a list of the longest-living biological organisms: the individual(s) (or in some instances, clones) of a species with the longest natural maximum life spans. For a given species, such a designation may include: # The oldest known individual(s) that are currently alive, with verified ages. # Verified individual record holders, such as the longest-lived human, Jeanne Calment, or the longest-lived domestic cat, Creme Puff. The definition of "longest-living" used in this article considers only the observed or estimated length of an individual organism's natural lifespan – that is, the duration of time between its birth or conception, or the earliest emergence of its identity as an individual organism, and its death – and does not consider other conceivable interpretations of "longest-living", such as the length of time between the earliest appearance of a species in the fossil record and the present (the historical "age" of the species as a whole), the time between a sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harriet (tortoise)
Harriet (formerly Harry; – 23 June 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger'', specifically a western Santa Cruz tortoise ''C. n. porteri'') who had an estimated age of 175 years at the time of her death in Australia. At the time of her death, she lived at the Australia Zoo which was owned by Steve and Terri Irwin. Harriet is one of the longest-lived known tortoises, behind Tu'i Malila, who died in 1966 at the age of 188 or 189; Jonathan, who remains alive at an age of , and possibly Adwaita, who died in 2006 at an estimated age of between 250 and 255 years. Harriet was reportedly collected by Charles Darwin during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition, transported to England, and then taken to her final home, Australia, by John Clements Wickham, the retiring captain of the ''Beagle''. However, doubt is cast on this story by the fact that Darwin had never visited Santa Cruz, the island that Harriet origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
The Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae and genus '' Aldabrachelys''. The species is endemic to the Seychelles, with the nominate subspecies, ''A. g. gigantea'' native to Aldabra atoll. It is one of the largest tortoises in the world.Pritchard, Peter C.H. (1979) ''Encyclopedia of Turtles.'' Neptune, New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd. Historically, giant tortoises were found on many of the western Indian Ocean islands, as well as Madagascar, and the fossil record indicates giant tortoises once occurred on every continent and many islands with the exception of Australia and Antarctica. Many of the Indian Ocean species were thought to be driven to extinction by over-exploitation by European sailors, and they were all seemingly extinct by 1840 with the exception of the Aldabran giant tortoise on the island atoll of Aldabra. Although some remnant individuals of ''A. g. hololissa'' and ''A. g. arnoldi'' may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Louis Schwendler
Carl Louis Schwendler (1838–1882) was a German electrician and one of the first proponents of the tungsten based incandescent light bulb. He also published an influential textbook on telegraphs, and worked in British India at a senior post in the Telegraph Department. He was involved in setting up telegraphic communication between Agra and Calcutta solving problems in transmission of submerged cables. He was commissioned by the Railways to perform a feasibility study of lighting Indian Railways stations by electric lamp. Schwendler was a member of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In 1867 a zoo was proposed by Joseph Fayrer and the idea was again raised by Schwendler in 1873. He helped in the setting up of this garden and offered his small menagerie (prior to his leaving India) to create the nucleus of the Alipore Zoological Gardens in Kolkata. The Zoological Gardens were formally inaugurated on 1 January 1876 by the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII) and opened to the public in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tu'i Malila
Tu'i Malila (1777 – 16 May 1966) was a tortoise that Captain James Cook was traditionally said to have given to the royal family of Tonga. She was a female radiated tortoise (''Astrochelys radiata'') from Madagascar. Although believed to have been a male during its life, examination after the tortoise's death suggested it was female. The name means ''King Malila'' in the Tongan language. Life According to one story, Tu'i Malila was one of a pair of tortoises given by Captain Cook to the Tongan royal family upon his visit to Tonga in July 1777. The other tortoise reportedly died shortly after Cook's visit.Tropicalities ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1966, p53 This story has been discounted on the basis that Cook made no mention of the event in his journal, although it has been suggested that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldabra
Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll (the largest is Kiritimati), is located east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands (Seychelles), Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 km (700 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria on Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé Island. Initially named by Arab seafarers for its harsh environment, Aldabra became a French colonial empire, French colony dependency in the 18th century, leading to the exploitation of its natural resources, particularly giant tortoises. After passing through British hands, Aldabra faced potential military use in the 1960s, but international protests resulted in its protection. The atoll boasts unique geography, featuring the world's largest raised coral reef and a large shallow lagoon. Aldabra's history involves human impact, including failed agricultural ventures. Post-World War II, con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonathan (tortoise)
Jonathan (hatched ) is a Seychelles giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa''), a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea''). His age is estimated to be as of , making him the oldest known living land animal. Jonathan now resides on the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. History Jonathan, hatched , was brought to Saint Helena from the Seychelles (then under the British Crown colony of Mauritius) in the Indian Ocean in 1882, along with three other tortoises at about 50 years of age. He was named in the 1930s by Governor of Saint Helena Sir Spencer Davis and has lived through 31 governors' terms. He continues to live on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the governor; he is cared for by the government of Saint Helena. His exact age is unknown, but in November 2022 Nigel Phillips, then Governor of Saint Helena, granted him an official birthday of 4 December. Ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1750 Animal Births
Year 175 ( CLXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Iulianus (or, less frequently, year 928 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 175 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Marcus Aurelius suppresses a revolt of Avidius Cassius, governor of Syria, after the latter proclaims himself emperor. * Avidius Cassius fails in seeking support for his rebellion and is assassinated by Roman officers. They sent his head to Aurelius, who persuades the Senate to pardon Cassius's family. * Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina, is named Caesar. * M. Sattonius Iucundus, decurio in Colonia Ulpia Traiana, restores the Thermae of Coriovallum (modern Heerlen). There are sources that state this happened in the 3rd century. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and application integration services. Sify Technologies Limited played a role during the early spread of Internet and e-commerce in India. It has been listed on NASDAQ as SIFY since October 1999. Merrill Lynch was the underwriter for Sify's IPO on the NASDAQ. Sify was founded and led to IPO by R. Ramaraj. History In November 1999, Sify paid crore for a 24.5% stake in IndiaWorld Communications. It acquired the remaining shares for crore on 30 June 2000. In 2000, Sify sponsored the India Olympics team. In January 2002, Sify announced prizes for most emails sent under a 6-week contest called "Sify Greenmail," promoting emails as an eco-friendly way of communication. In March 2002, Sify made an agreement with Makemytrip to run Sify's tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
