Today is Friday, February 24, 2017.
- Sunrise: 6:48am
- Sunset: 5:59pm
8% of the waning crescent moon will be visible, setting at 4:18pm
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 9:41am/11:14pm
- Low: 3:38am/4:15pm
Special International Celebrations today…
- Baire Proclamation - Cuba
- Dia de la Bandera (Flag Day) - Mexico
- Independence Day (1918) – Estonia
It’s also…
- Forget Me Not Day
- Girl Scout Cookie Weekend
- Women in Blue Jeans Days
- World Bartender Day
- Tortilla Chip Day
On this day in…
1803 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled itself to be the final interpreter of all constitutional issues.
1835 - "Siwinowe Kesibwi" (The Shawnee Sun) was issued as the first Indian language monthly publication in the U.S.
1839 - Mr. William S. Otis received a patent for the steam shovel.
1857 - The Los Angeles Vinyard Society was organized.
1857 - The first shipment of perforated postage stamps was received by the U.S. Government.
1863 - Arizona was organized as a territory.
1866 - In Washington, DC, an American flag made entirely of American bunting was displayed for the first time.
1868 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson due to his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The U.S. Senate later acquitted Johnson.
1886 - Thomas Edison and Mina Miller were married.
1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck signed the contract to begin work on New York's first rapid transit tunnel. The tunnel would link Manhattan and Brooklyn. The ground breaking ceremony was on March 24, 1900.
1903 - In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an area was leased to the U.S. for a naval base.
1925 - A thermit was used for the first time. It was used to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam that had clogged the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, NY.
1938 - The first nylon bristle toothbrush was made. It was the first time that nylon yarn had been used commercially.
1942 - The U.S. Government stopped shipments of all 12-gauge shotguns for sporting use for the wartime effort.
1942 - The Voice of America (VOA) aired for the first time.
1945 - During World War II, the Philippine capital of Manilla, was liberated by U.S. soldiers.
1946 - Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina.
1956 - The city of Cleveland invoked a 1931 law that barred people under the age of 18 from dancing in public without an adult guardian.
1980 - NBC premiered the TV movie "Harper Valley P.T.A."
1981 - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer.
1983 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 1100 mark for the first time.
1983 - A U.S. congressional commission released a report that condemned the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.
1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, got his first three-point shot in the NBA.
1987 - An exploding supernova was discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy.
1988 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a $200,000 award to Rev. Jerry Falwell that had been won against "Hustler" magazine. The ruling expanded legal protections for parody and satire.
1989 - Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sentenced Salman Rushdie to death for his novel "The Satanic Verses". A bounty of one to three-million-dollars was also put on Rushidie's head.
1989 - A United Airlines 747 jet rips open in flight killing 9 people. The flight was from Honolulu to New Zealand.
1992 - "Wayne's World" opened in U.S. theaters.
1992 - Tracy Gold began working on the set of "Growing Pains" again. She had left the show due to anorexia.
1994 - In Los Angeles, Garrett Morris was shot during a robbery attempt. He eventually recovered from his injury.
1997 - The U.S. The Food and Drug Administration named six brands of birth control as safe and effective "morning-after" pills for preventing pregnancy.
1997 - Dick Enberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1999 - In southeast China, a domestic airliner crashed killing all 64 passengers.
2007 - The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery.
2008 - Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president. His brother Fidel had ruled for nearly 50 years
If today’s your birthday, you share it with…
- Wilhelm Grimm 1786 - Author with brother Jakob Grimm
- Winslow Homer 1836 - Artist
- Chester Nimitz 1885 - U.S. Navy Admiral, WWII Commander in Chief
- Abe Vigoda 1921- Actor ("Barney Miller", "The Godfather")
- Steven Hill 1922- Actor ("Law & Order", "Mission: Impossible", "Legal Eagles")
- Richard B. Shull 1929 - Actor ("Splash")
- Barbara Lawrence 1930
- Dominic Chianese 1931- Actor ("The Sopranos"), singer
- John Vernon 1932- Actor ("The Outlaw Jose Wales", "Dirty Harry")
- Michel Legrand 1932- Composer
- Linda Cristal 1936
- Renata Scotto 1936- Opera singer
- James Farentino 1938- Actor ("Dynasty", "The Final Countdown")
- Paul Jones 1942 - Musician (Manfred Mann)
- George Harrison 1943
- Sheila Larkin 1944
- Barry Bostwick 1945 - Actor ("Spy Hard", "Spin City" "War & Remembrance")
- Rupert Holmes 1947 - Musician, songwriter
- Edward James Olmos 1947- Actor ("Blade Runner", "Miami Vice")
- Lonnie Turner 1947 - Musician
- George Thorogood 1950 - Musician
- Helen Shaver 1951- Actress ("The Craft", "Born to be Wild")
- Steven Jobs 1955
- Bob Abrams 1955- Musician
- Paula Zahn 1956- TV journalist
- Eddie Murray 1956- Baseball player
- Sammy Kershaw 1958
- Michelle Shocked 1962- Singer
- Todd Field 1964 - Director
- Billy Zane 1966- Actor
- Jeff Garcia 1970 - Football player
- Mike Lowell 1974 - Baseball player
- Simeon Rice 1974 - Football player
- Bonnie Somerville 1974 - Actress
- Lleyton Hewitt 1981 - Tennis player
