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Almanac - Tuesday 2/27/18

Polar Bears napping, taken by flickr user Hidehiro Komatsu

Today is Tuesday, the 27th of February of 2018, is the 58th day of the year. 

There are 307 days remaining until the end of the year 

21 days until spring begins...

252 days until mid-term elections Tuesday November 6, 2018

(8 months and 11 days from today)

980 days until presidential elections on Tuesday November 3, 2020

(2 years 8 months and 8 days from today)

The sun rises at 6:43 am 

and sunset will be at 6:03 pm. 

We will have 11 hours and 20 minutes of daylight, today. 

Solar noon will be at 12:23 pm.

The first low tide will be at 2:40 am 

and the next low tide at 3:34 pm. 

The first high tide will be at 8:50 am 

and the next high tide at 10:37 pm.

Full Moon in 2 days on Thursday, the 1st of March of 2018 at 4:51 pm

Last Quarter Moon on Friday the 9th of March of 2018 at 3:20 am

New Moon in 18 days on Saturday the 17th of March of 2018 at 5:12 am

First Quarter Moon on Saturday the 24th of March of 2018 at 7:35 am

Today is…

International Polar Bear Day

National Kahlua Day

National Retro Day

National Strawberry Day

World Spay Day

It’s also…

The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá'í Faith

International Anosmia Awareness Day 

Doctors' Day in Vietnam

International Polar Bear Day

Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)

Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)

Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.

World NGO Day

On this day in African-American History…

from blackfacts.com and blackamericaweb.com

1788: Prince Hall, Revolutionary War Veteran and founder of African Masonic Lodges, *may* have been born on this date. Though his accomplishments are well celebrated, little is known of Prince Hall"s early life.

On this day in 1833, Maria W. Steward delivered one of the four speeches which confirmed her place in history as the first American-born woman to give public lectures. Stewards lectures focused on encouraging African-Americans to attain education, political rights, and public recognition for their achievements. Her speech on thi day delivered at the African Masonic Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, was titled "On African Rights and Liberty." Sixty-seven years later in Boston on this same day,

African-American teacher and poet Angelina Weld Grimke was born. Grimke was a descendant of the famous white abolitionist and feminist sisters Angelina and Sarah Grimke.

Joseph Dickinson was born in Canada in 1855 and moved to Michigan in 1870. He learned about various types of organs while working for the Clough and Warren Organ Company in Detroit in 1872. One of the organs he designed was awarded a prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a presidential candidate who had yet to win the Republican nomination, accepted an invitation to speak to the Young Men’s Republican Union at Cooper Union Hall before a capacity crowd of 1,500.  Lincoln used the occasion to outline his views on slavery in the United States.

1869: Congress adopted the 15th constitutional amendment, making it illegal for the US or any single government to deny or abridge the right to vote "on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude."

1869:  John Menard became the first black to make a speech in Congress.  He spoke in Congress in defense of his claim to a contested seat in Louisiana’s Second Congressional District. 

1872:  Charlotte E. Ray graduated from Howard University School of Law on this day and became the first female admitted to the District of Columbia Bar and She is the first African American lawyer in the U.S.

1883: Walter B. Purvis patented hand stamp.

Hugo Black , in full Hugo La Fayette Black (born February 27, 1886, Harlan, Clay county, Alabama. 

1897: Born this day, singer Marian Anderson and one of the best American contraltos of all time. In 1955, she became the first African American singer to perform as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She passed away in April of 1993. 

Then on this day in 1939: The DAR bans Marian Anderson from performing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. As a result, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes arrange for Anderson to perform for a crowd of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial.

1923:  Jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon was born. He passed away in 1990.

1924: Printmaker Samella Lewis was born on this date in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1928: Civil rights activist Ann Walker was born on this date in Freehold, New Jersey.

1932: Dentist Dr. Henry Lucas was born on this date in Rahway, New Jersey. 

1942: Newspaper reporter, television news correspondent, and civic activist Charlayne Hunter-Gault was born on this date in Due West, South Carolina.

1945: Television news anchor Maureen Bunyan was born on this date in Aruba.

1945:  Singer, actor of film and theater, Carl Anderson, was born on this day. He lost his battle with leukemia in February of 2004

1951: Newspaper publishing executive Reed Kimbrough was born on this date in Selma, Alabama.

Racecar driver Dewey Gatson, AKA Rajo Jack DeSoto (1905-1956)  died in California on February 27, 1956 from heart failure suffered while on Highway 395 near Inyokern.

1957: Sherry D. Harris was born.  She was the first out black lesbian elected to public office in 1991 in the United States. This also gave her the distinction of being the first African American woman on the Seattle City Council in Washington

1961: Aretha Franklin made her pop chart debut on this day with 'Won't Be Long' on Columbia Records. It was the first of 74 hits for the Queen of Soul. 

1964: Anna Julia Cooper, champion for the rights of black women, dies at the age of 105.

Anna Julia Cooper , née Anna Julia Haywood (born August 10, 1858?, Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.—died February 27, 1964, Washington, D.C.), American educator and writer whose book A Voice From the South by a Black Woman of the South (1892) became a classic African American feminist.

1971: R&B singer & actress Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas was born on this day in Atlanta, GA

1980:  On this day, Michael Jackson was awarded the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male Grammy at the 22nd annual Grammy Awards for 'Don't Stop Till You Get Enough' on this day.

1981:  Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recorded "Ebony and Ivory" on this day. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts

1982:  Wayne Williams was found guilty and sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the murders of two young blacks who were among 28 black youths murdered in Atlanta, GA over a 22-month period. 

1984:  The first Olympian athlete to win consecutive long-jump gold medals, Carl Lewis, jumped the world record indoors (8,675m) on this day. 

1988:  World class figure skater Debi Thomas won a bronze medal on this day at the Winter Olympics. She was the first African American to win a Medal in any Winter Olympic sport. She is now a physician in Terre Haute, IN. 

1992:  Tiger Woods, at age 16, became the youngest PGA golfer in 35 years on this day. 

1993:  After 14 weeks at Number 1, Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' became the longest-running chart topper on this day. It became the second largest selling single in U.S. history. First place is 'We Are the World' by USA for Africa. 

1997:  The Four Tops received the Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award at the 8th annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Ceremony at New York's Hilton Hotel. 

1998:  Janet Jackson surprised Rosie O'Donnell by dropping by her talk show and bringing her tickets to her show. Rosie freaked out. Janet also brought CDs and t-shirts for the entire audience. 

2002:  Alicia Keys took home five Grammys at the 44th Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Song of the Year & Record of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for 'Fallin' on this day. 

Yityish “Titi” Aynaw was crowned Miss Israel on February 27, 2013.  She made history when she became the first Miss Israel of African ancestry.  Born in Gondar Province, Ethiopia, Aynaw arrived in Israel in March 2003 along with her older brother and grandparents at the age of 12.