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Almanac - Friday, 5/5/17

Happy Birthday to Python alum Michael Palin. Today is Friday, May 5, 2017 the 125th day of the year with 240 days remaining.

  • Sunrise: 6:09am    
  • Sunset: 8:04pm

...giving us 13 hours and 55 minutes of daylight. 67% of the waxing moon will be visible, rising at 3:21pm

 

Special international celebrations today...

  • Children's Day - South Korea, Japan
  • Constitution Day - Kyrgyzstan
  • Coronation Day - Thailand
  • Indian Heritage Day - Guyana
  • International Midwives Day
  • Prague Uprising 1945 - Czech Republic
  • Senior Citizen's Day - Palau
  • Liberation Day - Netherlands
  • Battle of Puebla - Mexico

It's also…

  • Cartoonists Day
  • Childhood Stroke Awareness Day
  • International Day of The Midwife
  • International Roller Derby Day
  • International Sauvignon Blanc Day
  • International Space Day
  • Tuba Day

On this day in…

1494 - Christopher Columbus sighted Jamaica on his second trip to the Western Hemisphere. He named the island Santa Gloria.

1798 - U.S. Secretary of War William McHenry ordered that the USS Constitution be made ready for sea. The frigate was launched on October 21, 1797, but had never been put to sea.

1809 - Mary Kies was awarded the first patent to go to a woman. It was for technique for weaving straw with silk and thread.

1814 - The British attacked the American forces at Ft. Ontario, Oswego, NY.

1834 - The first mainland railway line opened in Belgium.

1862 - The Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day.

1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in theU.S.

1891 - Music Hall was dedicated in New York City. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.

1892 - The1494 - Christopher Columbus sighted Jamaica on his second trip to the Western Hemisphere. He named the island Santa Gloria.

1798 - U.S. Secretary of War William McHenry ordered that the USS Constitution be made ready for sea. The frigate was launched on October 21, 1797, but had never been put to sea.

1809 - Mary Kies was awarded the first patent to go to a woman. It was for technique for weaving straw with silk and thread.

1814 - The British attacked the American forces at Ft. Ontario, Oswego, NY.

1834 - The first mainland railway line opened in Belgium.

1862 - The Battle of Puebla took place. It is celebrated as Cinco de Mayo Day.

1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the US.

1891 - Music Hall was dedicated in New York City. It was later renamed Carnegie Hall.

1892 - The US Congress extended the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act for 10 more years. The act required Chinese in theUS to be registered or face deportation.

1901 - The first Catholic mass for night workers was held at the Church of St. Andrew in New York City.

1904 - The third perfect game of themajor leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.

1912 - Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda began publishing.

1916 -US Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.

1917 - Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earned his flying certificate with the French Air Service.

1925 - John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.

1926 - Eisenstein's film "Battleship Potemkin" was shown in Germany for the first time.

1926 - Sinclair Lewis refused a 1925 Pulitzer for "Arrowsmith."

1936 - Edward Ravenscroft received a patent for the screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip.

1945 - The Netherlands and Denmark were liberated from Nazi control.

1945 - A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. A pregnant woman and five children were killed.

1955 - "Damn Yankees" opened on Broadway.

1955 - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became a sovereign state.

1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the US. He was clocked at 3:58.5.

1961 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a 15 minute suborbital flight.

1966 - Willie Mays broke theNational League record for home runs when he hit his 512th.

1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000thmajor league hit.

1984 - The Itaipu Dam opened on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay.

1987 - TheUS congressional Iran-Contra hearings opened.

1991 - In New York, Carnegie Hall marked its 100th anniversary.

1997 - Ivan Reitman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2000 - The final episode of "Boy Meets World" aired on ABC.

Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...

  • Soren Kierkegaard 1813 - Philosopher, poet, theologian
  • Karl Marx 1818 - Socialist writer ("Das Kapital", "The Communist Manifesto"), founder of communism
  • John B. Stetson 1830 - Hat manufacturer, inventor of cowboy hat
  • Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochran Seaman) 1865 - Journalist, wrote about taboo subjects for her time period (divorce, poverty, capital punishment, insanity), women’s rights advocate
  • Charles Bender 1884 - Baseball pitcher
  • Christopher Morley 1890 - Writer (New York Evening Post, Saturday Review), novelist
  • Tyrone Power (Tyrone Edmund Power Jr.) 1913 - Actor ("The Mark of Zorro", "The Eddie Duchin Story")
  • Duane Carter 1913 - Auto racer
  • Alice Faye (Alice Jeanne Leppert) 1915 - Actress ("State Fair")
  • Arthur Schawlow 1921 - American physicist
  • Ann B. Davis (Ann Bradford Davis) 1926 - Actress ("The Brady Bunch")
  • Art Pollard 1927 - Auto racer
  • Pat Carroll 1927 - Comedienne, actress ("The Ted Knight Show")
  • Ace Cannon (John Henry Cannon Jr.) 1934 - Saxophonist
  • Johnnie Taylor 1934 - Singer
  • Jose (Antonio Rodriguez) Pagan 1935 - Baseball player
  • Sandy Baron (Sanford Beresofsky) 1937 - Comedian, actor ("This Must Be Belgium")
  • Roni Stoneman (Veronica Loretta "Roni" Stoneman) 1938 - Banjo player (Hee Haw gang)
  • Michael Murphy 1938 - Actor ("Batman Returns")
  • Lance Henriksen 1940 - Actor ("The Last Samurai", "Dog Day Afternoon")
  • Tommy (Vann) Helms 1941 - Baseball player
  • Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh) 1942 - Country singer
  • Michael Palin 1943 - Comedian, actor ("Monty Python’s Flying Circus", "A Fish Called Wanda")
  • Roger Rees 1944 - Actor ("Robin Hood: Men in Tights", "If Looks Could Kill")
  • John Rhys-Davies 1944 - Actor
  • Jean-Pierre Léaud 1944 - Actor ("Last Tango in Paris")
  • Larry (Eugene) Hisle 1947 - Baseball player
  • John Hummer 1948 - Basketball player
  • Bill Ward 1948 - Musician (Black Sabbath)
  • Nick Bebout 1951 - Football player
  • Richard E. Grant 1957 - Actor ("Ready to Wear", "Bram Stoker’s Dracula")
  • John Miller 1958 - Broadcast journalist
  • Annette Bening 1959 - Actress
  • Ian McCullouch 1959 - Musician (Echo and the Bunnymen)
  • Gary Daly 1962 - Singer (China Crisis)
  • Kevin Mooney 1962 - Musician (Adam & The Ants)
  • Kevin James LaBrie 1963 - Musician (Dream Theater)
  • Tina Yothers 1973 - Actress ("Family Ties")
  • Craig David 1981 - Singer
  • Danielle Fishel 1981 - Actress ("Boy Meets World"), author 
David Latulippe is host of On the Arts, KALW's weekly radio magazine of the performing arts, as well as for Explorations in Music, and the Berkeley Symphony broadcasts. He has also hosted and produced the radio series From the Conservatory, Music from Mills, and Music at Menlo, and is principal guest host for Revolutions Per Minute.