January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 339 days remaining until the end of the year (340 in leap years).

Events[link]

• 1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
• 1531 – Lisbon, Portugal is hit by an earthquake--thousands die.
• 1564 – The Council of Trent issues its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
• 1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
• 1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
• 1589 – Job is elected as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
• 1699 – Treaty of Carlowitz is signed.
• 1700 – The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake takes place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
• 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
• 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day
• 1808 – Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.
• 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
• 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States
• 1841 – The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally cedes.
• 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
• 1856 – First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
• 1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
• 1870 – American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union.
• 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum.
• 1905 – The world's largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.62135 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
• 1907 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the second oldest military rifle still in official use.
• 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
• 1911 – Richard Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
• 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
• 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers' Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
• 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
• 1924 – Saint Petersburg, Russia, is renamed Leningrad.
• 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) which occurred 20 years later.
• 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
• 1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
• 1939 – Spanish Civil War – Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
• 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
• 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
• 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
• 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
• 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
• 1958 – Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsizes off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed.
• 1960 – Danny Heater sets a worldwide high school basketball scoring record when he records 135 points for Burnsville High School (West Virginia)
• 1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds this appointment.
• 1962 – Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
• 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
• 1966 – The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.
• 1978 – The Great Blizzard of 1978, a rare severe blizzard with the lowest non-tropical atmospheric pressure ever recorded in the US until October 2010, strikes the Ohio – Great Lakes region with heavy snow and winds up to 100 mph (161 km/h).
• 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
• 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
• 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had "sexual relations" with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
• 2001 – An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
• 2004 – President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan.
• 2004 – A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
• 2005 – Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
• 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.

Births[link]

• 1497 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
• 1541 – Florent Chrestien, French writer (d. 1596)
• 1595 – Antonio Maria Abbatini, Italian composer (d. 1679)
• 1708 – William Hayes, English composer, organist, singer and conductor (d. 1777)
• 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (d. 1785)
• 1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, British soldier and politician (d. 1785)
• 1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (d. 1805)
• 1761 – Jens Zetlitz, Norwegian priest and poet (d. 1821)
• 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden, Napoleonic general (d. 1844)
• 1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (d. 1831)
• 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican founding father (d. 1876)
• 1826 – Julia Dent-Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
• 1832 – George Shiras Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1924)
• 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and novelist (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà), explorer (d. 1905)
• 1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene writer, poet and journalist in Hungary (d. 1934)
• 1878 – Dave Nourse, South African cricketer (d. 1948)
• 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general and Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
• 1885 – Michael Considine, Australian politician (d. 1959)
• 1887 – François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
• 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral (d. 1947)
• 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-born American gangster (d. 1973)
• 1891 – August Froehlich, German Roman Catholic priest, member of the resistance against Nazism and martyr (d.1942)
• 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-born Canadian neurosurgeon (d. 1976)
• 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pioneer aviator (d. 1926)
• 1892 – Zara Cully, American actress (d. 1978)
• 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1976)
• 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
• 1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (d. 1940)
• 1904 – Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
• 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
• 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (d. 1987)
• 1907 – Dimitrios Holevas, Greek Orthodox priest, member of the Greek Resistance movement (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
• 1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter (d. 2009)
• 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist (Quintette du Hot Club de France) (d. 1997)
• 1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (d. 1989)
• 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)
• 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (d. 2006)
• 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
• 1918 – Nicolae Ceauşescu, 1st President of Romania (d. 1989)
• 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American writer (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
• 1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager for Tottenham Hotspur. (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Hans Holzer, American paranormal researcher (d. 2009)
• 1921 – Eddie Barclay, French producer (Barclay Records) (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Michael Bentine, British comedian (d. 1996)
• 1922 – Seán Flanagan, Irish Gaelic footballer and politician (d. 1993)
• 1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress
• 1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer
• 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot politician (d.2011)
• 1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress
• 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, philanthropist, race car driver and race team owner (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Claude Ryan, Canadian newspaper editor (d. 2004)
• 1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani scholar
• 1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player (d. 1985)
• 1928 – Roger Vadim, French film director and actor (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and writer
• 1929 – Gordon Solie, American wrestling commentator (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Napoleón Abueva, Filipino sculptor
• 1931 – Mary Murphy, American film actress
• 1932 – Coxsone Dodd, Jamaican record producer
• 1932 – George Clements, American civil rights activist and Roman Catholic priest
• 1933 – Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist
• 1934 – Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and newspaper publisher
• 1935 – Corrado Augias, Italian journalist, writer and TV personality
• 1935 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player and broadcaster
• 1936 – Sal Buscema, American comic book artist
• 1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leone political leader (d. 2003)
• 1941 – Scott Glenn, American actor
• 1941 – Henry Jaglom, English director
• 1942 – Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress (d. 2001)
• 1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Jean Knight, American singer
• 1943 – Austin "Jack" Warner, Trinidadian FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President
• 1944 – Angela Davis, American feminist and activist
• 1944 – Jerry Sandusky, Former Penn State football coach; accused of 40 counts of sexual abuse of young boys
• 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
• 1946 – Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor (d. 1982)
• 1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer
• 1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
• 1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
• 1950 – Jörg Haider, Austrian far-right politician (d. 2008)
• 1950 – Janet Lupo, American model
• 1951 – Walt Willey, American actor
• 1953 – Alik L. Alik, vice-president of the Federate States of Micronesie
• 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Secretary General of NATO
• 1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer
• 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
• 1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American musician (Van Halen)
• 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer
• 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American actress and comedian
• 1958 – Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer
• 1960 – Road Warrior Animal, American professional wrestler
• 1960 – Charlie Gillingham, American musician (Counting Crows)
• 1961 – Li Cunxin, Chinese-Australian ballet dancer
• 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1961 – Tom Keifer, American musician (Cinderella)
• 1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer
• 1963 – Riddell Akua, Nauruan politician
• 1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
• 1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English musician (Wham!)
• 1963 – Gisela Valcarcel, Peruvian Hostess
• 1964 – Peter Braunstein, American journalist, writer, and playwright
• 1964 – Paul Johansson, American actor
• 1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish politician
• 1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast
• 1967 – Pradip Somasundaran, Indian playback singer
• 1967 – Bryan Callen, American actor
• 1968 – Ravi Teja, Tollywood film actor
• 1969 – George Dikeoulakos, Greek basketball coach
• 1969 – Michael O'Hearn, American bodybuilder
• 1970 – Kirk Franklin, American gospel singer (One Nation Crew)
• 1970 – Tracy Middendorf, American actress
• 1971 – Dorian Gregory, American actor
• 1972 – Peter Peschel, German footballer
• 1973 – Melvil Poupaud, French actor
• 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese manga artist
• 1974 – Shannon Hale, American author
• 1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
• 1975 – Frankie Rayder, American model
• 1976 – Willie Adler, American guitar player (Lamb of God)
• 1976 – Hitomi, Japanese singer and songwriter
• 1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
• 1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player
• 1977 – Tye Tribbett, American Singer
• 1978 – Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
• 1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player
• 1978 – Kelly Stables, American actress
• 1979 – Sara Rue, American actress
• 1980 – Brian Fallon, American musician (The Gaslight Anthem)
• 1980 – Sanae Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress
• 1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan Composer/Conductor
• 1981 – Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian Cyclist
• 1982 – Brahim Takioullah, Moroccan Guiness World Records holder for the "World's largest feet"
• 1982 – Reggie Hodges, American football player
• 1983 – Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
• 1983 – Ryan Rowland-Smith, Australian baseball player
• 1983 – Su Hwan Lee, South Korean kickboxer
• 1984 – Layla Kayleigh, British television personality
• 1984 – Wu Qian, Chinese classical pianist
• 1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
• 1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
• 1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
• 1986 – Matt Heafy, American musician (Trivium and Capharnaum)
• 1986 – Hero, South Korean singer (JYJ and TVXQ)
• 1986 – Shantelle Malawski, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1986 – Thiago Pereira, Brazilian swimmer
• 1987 – Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (d. 2003)
• 1987 – Mia Rose, English/Portuguese singer
• 1987 – Marlon Mario Brandao da Silveira, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Yukiyo Mine, Japanese footballer
• 1989 – Marshon Brooks, American basketball player
• 1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
• 1989 – Torrey Smith, American football player
• 1990 – Christopher Massey, American actor
• 1990 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican racing driver
• 1993 – Cameron Bright, Canadian actor
• 1993 – Peter Čerešňák, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1996 – Tyger Drew-Honey, British actor

Deaths[link]

• 946 – Eadgyth, German Queen (b. 910)
• 1567 – Nicholas Wotton, English diplomat
• 1630 – Henry Briggs, English mathematician (b. 1556)
• 1636 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
• 1697 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (b. 1640)
• 1744 – Ludwig Andreas Graf Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
• 1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist (b. 1686)
• 1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German composer (b. 1732)
• 1799 – Gabriel Christie, British general (b. 1722)
• 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician (b. 1749)
• 1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter (b. 1791)
• 1831 – Sangolli Rayanna, freedom fighter from Karnataka, India (b. 1798)
• 1855 – Gérard de Nerval, French writer (b. 1808)
• 1869 – Duncan Gordon Boyes, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1846)
• 1870 – Victor de Broglie, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1785)
• 1885 – Edward Davy, English inventor (b. 1806)
• 1885 – Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British general (b. 1833)
• 1886 – David Rice Atchison, American politician (b. 1807)
• 1891 – Nikolaus August Otto, German inventor (b. 1833)
• 1893 – Abner Doubleday, American military figure, and credited inventor of baseball (b. 1819)
• 1904 – Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (b. 1846)
• 1926 – John Flannagan, American educator
• 1932 – William Wrigley Jr., American industrialist (b. 1861)
• 1933 – Alva Belmont, American socialite (b. 1853)
• 1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (b. 1868)
• 1943 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist (b. 1880)
• 1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist (b. 1887)
• 1946 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer (b. 1884)
• 1947 – Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, (b. 1906)
• 1947 – Grace Moore, American soprano (b. 1898)
• 1948 – John Lomax, American musicologist and folklorist (b. 1867)
• 1952 – Khorloogiin Choibalsan, leader of Mongolia (b. 1895)
• 1953 – Athanase David, Canadian politician and businessman (b. 1882)
• 1961 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900)
• 1962 – Lucky Luciano, American mobster (b. 1897)
• 1963 – H. S. Lloyd, British dog breeder (b. 1887)
• 1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American newspaper publisher (b. 1883)
• 1968 – Yvor Winters, American poet (b. 1900)
• 1973 – Jay C. Higginbotham, American musician (b. 1906)
• 1973 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (b. 1893)
• 1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese Bullfighter (b. 1901)
• 1977 – Filopimin Finos, Greek film producer (b. 1908)
• 1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, American politician - 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
• 1983 – Paul "Bear" Bryant, American football coach (b. 1913)
• 1990 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
• 1990 – Lewis Mumford, American historian (b. 1895)
• 1992 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Jan Gies, Dutch resistance leader (b. 1905)
• 1993 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish artist (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian politician (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg, (b. 1921)
• 1996 – Harold Brodkey, American author (b. 1930)
• 1996 – Frank Howard, American college football player and coach (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Henry Lewis, American musician and conductor (b. 1932)
• 1996 – Stevie Plunder, Australian musician (The Whitlams) (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Dave Schultz, American wrestler (b. 1959)
• 1997 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese music teacher (b. 1898)
• 2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Kathleen Hale, British author (b. 1898)
• 2000 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-born author (b. 1912)
• 2001 – Al McGuire, American basketball coach (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Soviet track-and-field athlete (b. 1942)
• 2003 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (b. 1917)
• 2003 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, British politician (b. 1931)
• 2004 – Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician and statesman (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Len Carlson, Canadian actor (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Carol Lambrino, Romanian royal (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Hans J. Wegner, Danish furniture designer (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Christian Brando, American actor; son of Marlon Brando (b. 1958)
• 2008 – Viktor Schreckengost, American industrial designer (b. 1906)
• 2011 – Gladys Horton, American musician and singer (The Marvelettes) (b. 1944)
• 2011 – Charlie Louvin, American musician (The Louvin Brothers) (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Colin Tarrant, British actor (b. 1952)
• 2012 – Ian Abercrombie, British actor (Wizards of Waverly Place) (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances[link]

• Australia Day (Australia)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Alberic
  • Margaret of Hungary
  • Paula
  • Timothy and Titus
  • January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
• Liberation Day (Uganda)
• Republic Day (India)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: January 26

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On this day in Canada

R.K.Laxman
Born	(1921-10-24) 24 October 1921 (age 90) Mysore, India
Occupation	Cartoonist, Illustrator
Signature

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Laxman^[1] born 24 October 1921^[2], Mysore, India) is an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is widely regarded as India's greatest-ever cartoonist^[3] and is best known for his creation The Common Man.

Birth and childhood[link]

R. K. Laxman was born in Mysore, in a Tamil Iyer family.^[1] His father was a headmaster and Laxman was the youngest of six sons.^[4] One of his siblings is R.K. Narayan, English language novelist.

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as Strand Magazine, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, even before he could read.^[5] Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making.^[6] Another early influence on Laxman were the cartoons of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low (whose signature he misread as "cow" for a long time) that appeared now and then in The Hindu.^[7] Laxman notes in his autobiography, The Tunnel of Time:

Laxman was the captain of his local "Rough and Tough and Jolly" cricket team and his antics inspired the stories "Dodu the money maker" and "The Regal Cricket Club" written by his brother, Narayan.^[9] Laxman's idyllic childhood was shaken for a while when his father suffered a paralytic stroke and died around a year later, but the elders at home bore most of the increased responsibility, while Laxman continued with his schooling.^[10]

After high school, Laxman applied to the JJ School of Arts, Bombay hoping to concentrate on his lifelong interests of drawing and painting, but the dean of the school wrote to him that his drawings lacked, "the kind of talent to qualify for enrollment in our institution as a student", and refused admission.^[11] He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore. In the meantime he continued his freelance artistic activities and contributed cartoons to Swarajya and an animated film based on the mythological character, Narada.^[12]

Career[link]

Beginning[link]

Laxman's earliest work was for newspapers and magazines such as Swarajya and Blitz. While still at the Maharaja College of Mysore, he began to illustrate his elder brother R K Narayan's stories in The Hindu, and he drew political cartoons for the local newspapers and for the Swatantra. Laxman also drew cartoons, for the Kannada humour magazine, Koravanji. Incidentally, Koravanji was founded in 1942 by Dr M Shivaram who was a allopath and had a clinic around Majestic area in Bangalore. He started this monthly magazine, dedicating it to hilarious/satirical articles and cartoons. Dr Shivaram himself was an eminent humourist in Kannada. He encouraged Laxman quite a lot. He held a summer job at the Gemini Studios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, Bal Thackeray, was his colleague. Laxman later joined The Times of India, beginning a career that has spanned for over fifty years.

Other creations[link]

He also created a popular mascot for the Asian Paints group called Gattu. Laxman has also penned a few novels. His cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. and Mrs. 55 and a Tamil Film "KAMARAJ".

R K Laxman Chair at Symbiosis International University[link]

There is a chair named after R. K. Laxman at Symbiosis International University.^[13]

Personal life[link]

He was first married to Bharatanatyam dancer and movie actress Kamala Laxman (also known before marriage as Baby Kamala and Kumari Kamala). After a divorce, he married again and his second wife's (a children's book writer) name was also Kamala. He lives both in Mumbai and Pune. In a cartoon series named "The star I never met" in film magazine Filmfare he painted a cartoon of Kamala Laxman, with the title "The star I only met!".

In September 2003, Laxman was affected by a stroke which left him paralysed on his left side. He has partly recovered from its effects. On the evening of 20 June 2010, Laxman was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being transported by an air ambulance from Pune. His condition was said to be stable.^[14]

Awards[link]

• B.D. Goenka Award - The Indian Express
• Durga Ratan Gold Medal - Hindustan Times
• Padma Bhushan - Govt. of India
• Padma Vibhushan - Govt. of India
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts - 1984
• Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism - CNN IBN TV18, 29 January 2008.

Bibliography[link]

• The Eloquent Brush: A Selection of Cartoons from Nehru to Rajiv
• 50 Years of Independence through the eyes of R.K.Laxman
• The Best of Laxman series
• Hotel Riviera
• The Messenger
• Servants of India
• The Tunnel of Time (autobiography)
• His autobiography Lakshmanrekha is published in Marathi.
• The Reel World [cartoons]published by Marwah Studios
• Brushing Up The Years- A Cartoonist's History of India- 1947 to the Present- Penguin Books

Multi-media[link]

• India Through The Eyes of R. K. Laxman - Then To Now (CD-ROM).
• Laxman Rekhas-A TOI Publication

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Laxman, R. K. (1998). The tunnel of time. India: Penguin Books. 
• Laxman's-eye view Frontline Magazine - 18–31 July 1998