THE NP CHRONICLE : 20TH JULY

The NP Chronicle 

20th July

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, he and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, which was led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988, he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

-- Sir Edmund Hillary

"Life's a bit like mountaineering—never look down."

-- Sir Edmund Hillary

"People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things."

-- Sir Edmund Hillary

Gregor Johann Mendel (20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was an Austrian biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brno (Brünn), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was born in a German-speaking family in the Silesian part of the Austrian Empire (today's Czech Republic) and gained posthumous recognition as the founder of the modern science of genetics. Though farmers had known for millennia that crossbreeding of animals and plants could favor certain desirable traits, Mendel's pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863 established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.

Natalie Wood (July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), followed by a role in John Ford's The Searchers (1956). Wood starred in the musical films West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962) and received nominations for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). Her career continued with films such as Sex and the Single Girl (1964), The Great Race (1965), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), This Property Is Condemned, Penelope (1966), and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969).

Today is:

▪︎ International Moon Day 

▪︎ International Chess Day

▪︎ Colombia Independence Day

▪︎ Birth anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary, Gregor Mendel, Natalie Wood

▪︎ Death anniversary of Pope Leo XIII, Guglielmo Marconi, Bruce Lee 

COLOMBIA

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country located in South America, with insular regions in North America. Colombia's mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Peru and Ecuador to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other urban areas include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Manizales. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi) and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language, although Creole, English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.

Colombia is officially ranked 13th in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking with 1,698.35 points, placing just behind Italy and ahead of Mexico.

Here is how Colombia places across other major global indices:

▪︎ Country Index: Colombia ranks 64th overall in the U.S. News Best Countries index, which evaluates quality of life, cultural heritage, and economic influence.

▪︎ Education: Top universities in the country, such as the Universidad de los Andes and Universidad Nacional de Colombia, consistently rank within the top 5 to 10 in Latin America.

▪︎ Economic/Demographic: As of recent global economic data, Colombia holds a baseline ranking as the fourth-largest economy in South America and the third-most populous country in the region.