- 109th Day of 2013 / 256 Remaining
- 63 Days Until The First Day of Summer
- Sunrise:6:27
- Sunset:7:49
- 13 Hours 22 Minutes of Daylight
- Moon Rise:1:46pm
- Moon Set:2:41am
- Moon’s Phase:62 %
- The Next Full Moon
- April 25 @ 12:59pm
- Full Pink Moon
- Full Sprouting Grass Moon
- Full Egg Moon
- Full Fish Moon
This moon’s name came from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
- Tides
- High:5:49am/7:49pm
- Low:12:44am/12:46pm
- Rainfall (measured July 1 – June 30)
- This Year:16.32
- Last Year:15.30
- Normal To Date:22.52
- Annual Seasonal Average:23.80
- Holidays
- John Parker Day
- National Hanging Out Day
- National Amaretto Day
- Garlic Day
- Republic Day-Sierra Leone
- Victory at Gir’n-Cuba
- Dia do Indio (Day of the Indian)-Brazil
- On This Day In …
- 1689 --- Residents of Boston ousted their governor, Edmond Andros.
- 1764 --- The English Parliament banned the American colonies from printing paper money.
1775 --- At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town's common green.
British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment's hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the "shot heard around the world" was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun.
- 1897 --- The first annual Boston Marathon -- the first of its type in the United States -- was run. John J. McDermott of New York City won. This marathon attracts world-class, and some not so world-class, runners from around the world. Previous runners who have claimed 1st place in the 26-mile marathon through the streets of Boston include Rosie Ruiz who, apparently, didn’t run the race at all, but merely joined in a short distance from the finish line and claimed first place! Another participant supposedly took a taxi cab around the course and waited until the right time to join in -- and won! The prizes were, however, taken away from those who didn’t run the Boston Marathon fair and square. A fine example of the tireless men and women who train to run in this premier event is Shigeki Tanaka, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, who won the Boston Marathon in 1951. Just 4 days ago, the marathon was interrupted before all runners were able to complete the race. Two bombs exploded near the finish line killing several and injuring hundreds, runners and bystanders alike. Many of the runners, some of whom were nearing the finish line and others who had just completed the 26.2 miles (42.195 km), along with first responders and spectators, immediately came to the aid of the injured. The human spirit prevailed as people from all walks of life came together to help one another in spite of those who perpetrated the terror.
- 1924 --- A new show joined the airwaves. The Chicago Barn Dance aired on WLS radio in the Windy City. Later, the famous program would be renamed The National Barn Dance. This program was the first country music jamboree on radio. (The Grand Ole Opry on WSM Radio in Nashville, TN began in 1925.) National Barn Dance continued for many years on the radio station that was owned by retailer, Sears Roebuck & Co. WLS, in fact, stood for ‘World’s Largest Store’. Though the Barn Dance gave way to rock music and now, talk radio, The Grand Ole Opry continues each weekend in Nashville.
- 1943 --- Tens of thousands of Jews living in the Warsaw Ghetto began an uprising against Nazi forces.
1949 --- At the opening night of the spring edition of the famous Moscow Circus, clowns and magicians fire salvos of jokes aimed at the United States. Although a relatively minor aspect of the total Cold War, the night was evidence that even humor played a role in the battle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Most of the barbs thrown during the opening night of the circus came from one of the most famous Russian clowns, Konstantin Berman.
He began his act by tossing a boomerang, which he likened to the workings of the U.S. Marshall Plan (an economic recovery plan designed to pump billions of dollars into the economies of Western Europe). "American aid to Europe," Berman announced. "Here is the dollar." The crowd roared its approval as the boomerang "dollar" returned directly to his hand. He then produced a radio. First, all that could be heard were barking dogs. "That's the Voice of America." Berman then made room for a magician. His most popular trick began when workers brought out an iron cage and an individual made up to look like Hitler was placed inside. The magician then pulled a curtain—"not an iron curtain, just a silken one"—over the cage and surrounding area. When the curtain was lifted, Hitler was outside the cage and the workers were trapped within. Two other individuals, one impersonating Churchill and another dressed like a typical American "capitalist," came out and shook Hitler's hand. The magician then intoned, "How much longer is this going on? Until the people's patience bursts, then it will end." He replaced the curtain, removed it again, and the delighted audience discovered that Hitler, Churchill, and the capitalist had been caged and the workers freed. "That's how it will be," the magician announced, "and forever, too." On the other side of the Atlantic, American comics and entertainers were just as busily poking fun at the Soviets and communism, indicated that laughter was universally welcomed in a period when the threats of massive new world wars and nuclear holocaust hung heavy in the air.
- 1961 --- The Federal Communications Commission authorized regular FM stereo broadcasting starting on June 1, 1961.
- 1981 ---The first major-league baseball team to win 11 straight games at the beginning of a season was the Oakland A’s. Win number 11 came with a few fireworks, as a brawl or two became a part of a 6-1 victory over Seattle in the first game of a doubleheader. In the second game, however, Seattle ended the A’s win streak with a 3-2 win.
- 1982 --- NASA named Sally Ride to be first woman astronaut and Guion S. Bluford Jr. as the first African-American astronaut.
- 1982 --- The U.S. announced a ban on U.S. tourist and business traval to Cuba. The U.S. charged the Cuban government with subversion in Central America.
- 1987 --- The last California condor known to be in the wild was captured and placed in a breeding program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
- 1989 --- A 28-year-old female investment banker is severely beaten and sexually assaulted while jogging in New York City’s Central Park. Five teenagers from Harlem were convicted of the crime, which shocked New Yorkers for its randomness and viciousness and became emblematic of the perceived lawlessness of the city at the time. Then, in 2002, a convicted murderer and serial rapist, already behind bars, came forward to confess he had attacked the Central Park jogger when he was 17 and had acted alone. DNA evidence later confirmed his rape claim. In December 2002, the convictions of the five men originally charged in the case were overturned. The men later filed multi-million dollar lawsuits against New York City, which have not been settled.
- 1993 --- A 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended when fire destroyed the structure after federal agents smashed their way in. Dozens of people, including sect leader David Koresh, were killed.
- 1995 --- The Supreme Court ruled that alcohol content could be listed on beer labels, overturning a 1935 law which had prohibited it.
1995 --- The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK
was destroyed by a bomb estimated at 5,000 pounds, hidden in a rent-a-truck. The blast was the worst bombing on U.S. soil. Timothy McVeigh was charged with terroristic murder. 168 people including 19 children died in the blast. 490 were injured. On June 2, 1997, McVeigh was found guilty on 11 different counts, including several first degree murder convictions for the deaths of federal officers. He was executed (lethal injection) on June 11, 2001 at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Terry L. Nichols, an Army buddy of McVeigh, was sentenced to life in prison.
- 2011 --- Cuba's Communist Party picked 79-year-old Raul Castro to replace his ailing brother Fidel as first secretary during a key Party Congress.
- Birthdays
- Ole Evinrude
- Jayne Mansfield
- Mark Volman
- Maria Sharapova
- Ashley Judd
- Tim Curry
- Suge Knight
- James Franco
- Kate Hudson
- Eliot Ness
- Dick Sargent
- Dudley Moore
- Paloma Picasso