The importance of February 6

On February 6, 1952 King George VI died in London. His daughter Elizabeth, who was than on an official visit to Kenya ascended the throne (though the coronation took place over a year later). 69 years later, she is still going strong….

In 2021, Queen Elizabeth will turn 95, Prince Philip will turn 100 and their marriage will complete 74 years. They were married a few months after India’s independence.

Closer home, Feb 6, 1952 was the first day of the 5th Test between India and England at Madras. England led 1-0 at that point.

In those days there used to be a rest day after 3 days of play. However Feb 7 was made the rest day instead because of the King’s demise. The English players wore black armbands.

On Feb 10th (the 4th day of play) India won by an innings and 8 runs. This was India’s first Test victory and they drew the series 1-1. This was the only Test when England was captained by DB Carr, while Vijay Hazare was India’s captain.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-tour-of-india-1951-52-61800/india-vs-england-5th-test-62729/full-scorecard

On February 6, 2021 another Test between India and England will be in progress at Chennai.

Important people born on Feb 6:

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890)

Ronald Reagan (1911)

Eva Braun Hitler (1912)

Fred Trueman (1931)

Bob Marley (1945)

S Sreesanth (1983)

Important people who died on Feb 6:

Motilal Nehru (1931)

King George VI (1952)

Ritwik Ghatak (1976)

James Hadley Chase (1985)

Arthur Ashe (1993)

besides several football players of Manchester United in a plane crash at Munich airport in 1958.

Long live gerontocracy!

Some basic facts:

Ronald Reagan was born on Feb 6, 1911.

He was sworn in as President on Jan 20, 1981 (69 years 349 days of age) and again on Jan 20, 1985 (73/349). The second occasion was a record for the oldest person to be sworn in as President, though it was for his second term.

Now, it appears that the next President (who will be sworn in on Jan 20, 2021) will be ONE OF the following:

Donald Trump (Jun 14, 1946)

Joseph Biden (Nov 20, 1942)

Bernard Sanders (Sep 8, 1941)-even before Pearl Harbour!

Trump was 70/220 when he was sworn in on Jan 20, 2017. That makes him the oldest to be sworn in as President for the FIRST time (unlike Reagan in 1985). And if he wins this time, he will be sworn in on Jan 20, 2021 at a record of 74/220, several months older than Reagan’s 73/349 in 1985.

And Biden will be still older on that day if he is elected: 78/61.

Sanders will be even older: 79/134.

Long live gerontocracy! as Mahathir Mohamad, Robert Mugabe and others such as Morarji Desai would have said.

So youngsters such as Pete Buttegieg and Tulsi Gabbard would need to be about 40 years older if they are to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile Jimmy Carter (Oct 1, 1924 and President in 1977-81) looks on in his 95th year.

Also see: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/more-about-long-lived-leaders/

More about long-lived leaders

India does have some entries here, which have even been cited in the Guinness Book of Records.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-appointed-prime-minister

So Morarji Desai (81) is the oldest to be elected Prime Minister for the first time. The case of Philippe Petain (84) is different as he was appointed “Chief of State” and not elected. This appointment came when France was about to be taken over by the invading German forces.

LK Advani (born November 1927) is now 90+ and may have hopes of surpassing Morarjibhai’s record.

There are, of course, others like Mahathir Mohamad who have been elected prime minister (but not for the first time) at a greater age. Other examples include William Gladstone of Britain (82+ when he became PM for the fourth time) and Ronald Reagan (73+ when he was elected President for the second time).

The oldest to become PM of Britain for the first time was Viscount Palmerston (70+) in 1855. India’s war of independence occurred during his first tenure of 1855-58. The change to direct rule in India came during the short tenure of his successor (The Earl of Derby) in 1858-59. Palmerston returned for his second term which was in 1859-1865.

The oldest to become President of the US for the first time is Donald Trump (70+). Incidentally, he, Bill Clinton and George Bush (Jr) were all born in 1946.

These links may be useful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom_by_age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_India_by_longevity

Contrary to popular belief, Gulzarilal Nanda had a longer lifespan than Morarji Desai. Both crossed 99. (But Morarji Desai celebrated his birthday only in leap years, which is another matter).

Alec Douglas-Home was among the longest-lived Prime Ministers of Britain, though also among the most obscure of those who served in the 20th century.

He was the only British PM to have played first-class cricket. He did not do too well, but at least had better figures than Nawaz Sharif.