The Elks Club was organized on this day in 1876. Today is Tuesday, April 11th, 2017 the 101st day of the year with 264 days remaining.
- Sunrise: 6:40am
- Sunset: 7:42pm
...giving us 13 hours and 2 minutes of daylight. 99% of the waxing moon will be visible, rising at 8:21pm
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 12:24am/12:58pm
- Low: 6:26am/6:26pm
Special international celebrations today…
- Battle of Rivas, National Heroes Day - Costa Rica
- Liberation Day - Uganda
It’s also…
- Barbershop Quartet Day
- Education and Sharing Day
- International "Louie Louie" Day
- National Pet Day
- National Teach Children To Save Day
- Submarine Day
- World Parkinson's Disease Day
- National Be Kind To Lawyers Day
- National Library Workers Day
- National Library Day
- National Cheese Fondue Day
On this day in…
1512 - The forces of the Holy League were heavily defeated by the French at the Battle of Ravenna.
1689 - William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.
1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht was signed, ending the War of Spanish Succession.
1783 - After receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on March 13, the U.S. Congress proclaimed a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain.
1803 - A twin-screw propeller steamboat was patented by John Stevens.
1814 - Napoleon was forced to abdicate his throne. The allied European nations had marched into Paris on March 30, 1814. He was banished to the island of Elba.
1876 - The stenotype was patented by John C. Zachos.
1876 - The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized.
1895 - Anaheim, CA, completed its new electric light system.
1898 - U.S. President William McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war with Spain.
1899 - The treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect.
1921 - Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax.
1921 - The first live sports event on radio took place this day on KDKA Radio. The event was a boxing match between Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee.
1901 - Construction on the Empire State Building was completed. The building was dedicated and opened on May 1, 1931.
1940 - Andrew Ponzi set a world's record in a New York pocket billiards tournament when he ran 127 balls straight.
1941 - Germany bombers blitzed Conventry, England.
1945 - U.S. troops reached the Elbe River in Germany.
1945 - During World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.
1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1951 -U.S. President Truman fired General Douglas MacArthur as head of United Nations forces in Korea.
1961 - Israel began the trial of Adolf Eichman, accused of World War II war crimes.
1968 -U.S. President Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
1970 - Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts did return safely.
1974 - The Judiciary committee subpoenasU.S. President Richard Nixon to produce tapes for impeachment inquiry.
1979 - Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.
1980 - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations specifically prohibiting sexual harassment of workers by supervisors.
1981 -U.S. President Ronald Reagan returned to the White House from the hospital after recovering from an assassination attempt on March 30.
1981 - In the Brixton area of London, a race riot erupted that resulted in the injury of more than 300 people.
1984 - China invaded Vietnam.
1984 - General Secretary Konstantin U. Cherenkov was named president of the Soviet Union.
1985 - Scientists in Hawaii measured the distance between the earth and moon within one inch.
1985 - The White House announced thatPresident Reagan would visit the Nazi cemetery at Bitburg.
1986 - Dodge Morgan sailed solo nonstop around the world in 150 days.
1986 - In Groton, CT, the submarine Nautilus exhibit opened to the public.
1986 - Kellogg's stopped giving tours of its breakfast-food plant. The reason for the end of the 80-year tradition was said to be that company secrets were at risk due to spies from other cereal companies.
1991 - U.N. Security Council issued a formal cease-fire with Iraq.
1996 - Forty-three African nations signed the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty.
1996 - Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff was killed with her father and flight instructor when her plane crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Jessica had hoped to become the youngest person to fly cross-country.
1998 - Northern Ireland's biggest political party, the Ulster Unionists, announced its backing of the historic peace deal.
1999 - Daouda Malam Wanke was designated president of Niger. President Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara had been assassinated on April 9.
2001 - China agreed to release 24 crewmembers of a U.S. surveillance plane. The EP-3E Navy crew had been held since April 1 on Hainon, where the plane had made an emergency landing after an in-flight collision with a Chinese fighter jet. The Chinese pilot was missing and presumed dead.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...
- Lizzie P. Bliss 1864 - Co-founder of New York City's Museum of Modern Art
- Lou Holtz 1893 - Comedian, actor
- Dean G. Acheson 1893
- Percy Julian 1899 - Scientist
- Dale Messick 1906 - Cartoonist ("Brenda Starr")
- Paul Douglas 1907 - Actor
- Jane Bolin 1908 - Attorney, first black woman to graduate from Yale School of Law, first black, female judge
- John Levy 1912 - Jazz musician (George Shearing quintet)
- Oleg Cassini 1913 - Fashion designer
- Cameron Mitchell 1918
- Jean-Claude Servan-Schreiber 1918
- Dorothy Shay 1921 - Singer, actress
- Ralph Blaze 1922 - Guitarist (with Stan Kenton)
- Ethel Kennedy (Skakel) 1928 - Wife of U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy
- Johnny Sheffield 1931 - Actor
- Joel Grey 1932 - Singer (Katz), dancer, actor ("Cabaret"), actress Jennifer Grey's father
- Richard Berry 1935
- Louise Lasser 1939 - Actress ("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman", "Slither")
- Ellen Goodman 1941 - Syndicated columnist
- John Milius 1944 - Director, screenwriter
- Joe Beauchamp 1944 - Football player
- Meshach Taylor 1947 - Actor ("Designing Women")
- Peter Riegert 1947 - Actor ("The Mask")
- Bill Irwin 1950 - Actor ("Hot Shots!", "Popeye"), choreographer
- Steve George 1951 - Football player
- Sid Monge 1951 - Baseball player
- Chris Difford 1954 - Musician (Squeeze)
- Neville Staple 1956 - Musician (The Specials)
- Jim Lauderdale 1957 - Country singer, songwriter
- Daryl Simmons 1957 - Songwriter, producer
- Stuart (William) Adamson 1958 - Musician (Big Country)
- Lucky Vanous 1961 - Actor
- Steve Azar 1964 - Country singer
- Nigel Pulsford 1965 - Musician (Bush)
- Lisa Stansfield 1966 - Singer, songwriter
- Delroy Pearson 1970 - Musician (Five Star)
- Dylan Keefe 1970 - Musician (Marcy Playground)
- Jason Varitek 1972 - Baseball player
- Mark Teixeira 1980 - Baseball player
- Joss Stone 1987 - Singer
