History

Tower Hall which is synonymous with Sinhala theatre celebrated its 95th anniversary last week. It was on December 16, 1911 that the first play was staged at Tower Hall. The play was 'Pandukabahaya' (a historical play based on King Pandukabhaya) written and produced by Charles Dias, a lawyer by profession. Tower Hall was built by a prominent businessman of the day, G. D. Hendrick Seneviratne Appuhamy who lived in Dematagoda. Along with a friend, B. J. Perera he ran a hotel at Panchikakwatta close to where he built Tower Hall. Maradana was not such a busy area then and he selected a little hillock opposite his hotel,Passenger Union Hotel to build the theater. He had bought the block of land for 50 rupees from the Municipality for a stable to house the horses who took part in the weekend races. The hall had accommodation for 800 seated and 400 standing audience with facilities for the actors to change and get their make-up done. The clock tower, which remains to thi...

Yuri Gagarin (1934 - 1968), Soviet cosmonaut and first human to fly in space. Gagarin flew into space aboard Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, and made one orbit of the earth. Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born in the Smolensk region of the former Union of Soviet . Socialist Republics (USSR). His family was displaced during World War II (1939 -1945) and moved to the town of Gzhatsk in the north-eastern part of Smolensk. In 1949, Gagarin began his higher education at a manufacturing trade school in Lyubertsy, a town outside of Moscow. In 1951, he trained as a metalworker at the industrial technical school in Saratov, which is south-east of Moscow. While he was in Saratov, he joined a flying club and learned to fly airplanes. His instructor recommended him to the air force, and Gagarin began attending the Soviet Air Force cadet training school at Chkalov (now ° Orenburg) in Russia in 1955. He graduated from the academy with high distinction in 1957, shortly after the launchof Spu...

American artist and inventor, known for his part in the invention of the electric telegraph and Morse code.   Samuel Finley Breese Morse important thing in his life Born - 27 April 1791 Died - 2 April 1872 (age 80) Education - Yale College Occupation - Painter , inventor Known for - The invention and transmission of Morse code Children - 7 Parents - Jedidiah Morse (father), Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese (mother) Spouse(s) - Lucretia Pickering Walker, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born in charlestown Massachusettes(now part of Bostorn), on April 27, 1791, and Educated at Yale College (now Yale University). He studied painting in London and became a successful portrait painter and sculptor. In 1825, he helped found the National Academy of Design in New York City, and the following year he became the first president of the institution. he continued his painting and became a professor of painting and sculpture at New York University in 1832. About tha...