A German engineer, fascinated by the idea of creating a “horseless carriage”, is granted a patent for the world’s first motorcar on January 29 in 1886. The Telegraph picture

Marco Polo, the Italian merchant and explorer, dies on January 8 in 1324. The Telegraph picture

An Indian Coast Guard ship is commissioned in Visakhapatnam on January 20 to be named ICGS Rani Abbakka after the legendary queen of Ullal, in present-day Karnataka. The Telegraph picture

After years of denial, professional cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to doping in January, 2013. The Telegraph picture

Author Jane Austen’s romantic novel Pride and Prejudice is published on January 28, 1813. The Telegraph picture

One hundred and one seconds after take-off, Air India Flight 855, that had left Santacruz Airport, Bombay, for Dubai on January 1 crashes into the Arabian Sea. The Telegraph picture

Local

2017: A 30m flagpole is installed at the junction of Sreebhumi and VIP Road and MLA Sujit Bose hoists the Indian National Flag on it on Republic Day.

National

1950: The first two verses of Vande Mataram are declared the “national song” of India on January 24. Originally a poem by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in his 1881 novel Anandamath, Vande Mataram was later set to tune by Rabindranath Tagore and sung by freedom fighters. The first two chosen verses are an abstract reference to the motherland.

Anthropologist Triloknath Pandit leads a team to establish the first friendly contact with isolated tribes of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on January 4, 1991. The Telegraph picture

1991: Anthropologist Triloknath Pandit leads a team to establish the first friendly contact with isolated tribes of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on January 4. Pandit was the first anthropologist there, working since 1967 on a “gift-dropping” experiment, leaving coconuts for the hostile tribes till they came and broke the ice. The government later banned interaction citing exploitation and lack of immunity among the natives.

1978: One hundred and one seconds after take-off, Air India Flight 855, that had left Santacruz Airport, Bombay, for Dubai on January 1 crashes into the Arabian Sea. None of the 213 people on board survive. It is believed that the captain became spatially disoriented after an instrument in the cockpit malfunctioned.

2012: An Indian Coast Guard ship is commissioned in Visakhapatnam on January 20 to be named ICGS Rani Abbakka after the legendary queen of Ullal, in present-day Karnataka. In the 16th century, the queen had fought off the Portuguese for over four decades who, after capturing Goa, had their eyes on the port and spice trade of Ullal. Finally captured, Abbakka died in jail, fighting.

2013: After years of denial, professional cyclist Lance Armstrong confesses to doping in January. Competing since the late 1980s, Armstrong drew immense support after he overcame cancer around 1996. He returned to the sport in 1998 and won Tour de France and Olympic medals. After his confession, Armstrong is stripped of all of his achievements from August 1998 onward.

1886: A German engineer, fascinated by the idea of creating a “horseless carriage”, is granted a patent for the world’s first motorcar on January 29. His name is Karl Benz and he becomes one of the founders of the automobile major Mercedes-Benz.

Sports, entertainment

1813: Author Jane Austen’s romantic novel Pride and Prejudice is published on January 28. The book, about the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet overcoming her prejudices to find love, stands the test of time, selling over 20 million copies worldwide and spawning adaptations on stage, film and television.

Global

1324: Marco Polo, the Italian merchant and explorer, dies on January 8. Though not the first European to travel to Asia, he was the first to write a book detailing the riches of China. The book — The Travels of Marco Polo — is said to have inspired future explorers like Christopher Columbus. Polo’s last words are: “I have not told half of what I saw.”