Today is Friday March 31, 2017 The 90th day of 2017-- 275 left Sunrise this morning 6:54 a.m. set: 7:32 p.m. 12:38 hours of daylight Moonrise: 9:41 a.m. set: 11:55 p.m. . SPECIAL CELEBRATIONS TODAY: Today is :International Transgender Day of Visibility, National Prom Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Bunsen Burner Day, Oranges and Lemons Day, National Clams on the Half shell Day and Tater Day.
This day in History: 1492 - King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued the Alhambra edict expelling Jews who were unwilling to convert to Christianity. 1776 - Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John that women were "determined to foment a rebellion" if the new Declaration of Independence failed to guarantee their rights. 1779 - Russia and Turkey signed a treaty concerning military action in Crimea. 1831 - Quebec and Montreal were incorporated as cities. 1854 - The U.S. government signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The act opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakotade to American trade. 1862 - Skirmishing between Rebels and Union forces took place at Island 10 on the Mississippi River. 1870 - In Perth Amboy, NJ, Thomas Munday Peterson became the first black to vote in the U.S. 1880 - Wabash, IN, became the first town to be completely illuminated with electric light. 1885 - Binney & Smith Company was founded in New York City. The company later became Crayola, LLC. 1889 - In Paris, the Eiffel Tower officially opened. 1900 - The W.E. Roach Company was the first automobile company to put an advertisement in a national magazine. The magazine was the "Saturday Evening Post". 1900 - In France, the National Assembly passed a law reducing the workday for women and children to 11 hours. 1901 - In Russia, the Czar lashed out at Socialist-Revolutionaries with the arrests of 72 people and the seizing of two printing presses. 1902 - In Tennessee, 22 coal miners were killed by an explosion. 1904 - In India, hundreds of Tibetans were slaughtered by the British. 1905 - Kaiser Wilhelm arrived in Tangier proclaiming to support for an independent state of Morocco. 1906 - The Conference on Moroccan Reforms in Algerciras ended after two months with France and Germany in agreement. 1906 - The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. The organization became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910. 1908 - 250,000 coal miners in Indianapolis, IN, went on strike to await a wage adjustment. 1909 - Serbia accepted Austrian control over Bosnia-Herzegovina. 1917 - The U.S. purchased and took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million. 1918 - For the first time in the U.S., Daylight Saving Time went into effect. 1921 - Great Britain declared a state of emergency because of the thousands of coal miners on strike. 1923 - In New York City, the first U.S. dance marathon was held. Alma Cummings set a new world record of 27 hours. 1932 - The Ford Motor Co. debuted its V-8 engine. 1933 - The U.S. Congress authorized the Civilian Conservation Corps to relieve rampant unemployment. 1933 - The "Soperton News" in Georgia became the first newspaper to publish using a pine pulp paper. 1939 - Britain and France agreed to support Poland if Germany threatened invasion. 1940 - La Guardia airport in New York officially opened to the public. 1941 - Germany began a counter offensive in North Africa. 1945 - "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway. 1946 - Monarchists won the elections in Greece. 1947 - John L. Lewis called a strike in sympathy for the miners killed in an explosion in Centralia, IL, on March 25, 1947. 1948 - The Soviets in Germany began controlling the Western trains headed toward Berlin. 1949 - Winston Churchill declared that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the U.S.S.R. from taking over Europe. 1949 - Newfoundland entered the Canadian confederation as its 10th province. 1958 - The U.S. Navy formed the atomic submarine division. 1959 - The Dalai Lama (Lhama Dhondrub, Tenzin Gyatso) began exile by crossing the border into India where he was granted political asylum. Gyatso was the 14th Daila Lama. 1960 - The South African government declared a state of emergency after demonstrations led to the death of more than 50 Africans. 1966 - An estimated 200,000 anti-war demonstrators march in New York City. (New York) 1966 - The Soviet Union launched Luna 10, which became the first spacecraft to enter a lunar orbit. 1967 - U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Consular Treaty, the first bi-lateral pact with the Soviet Union since the Bolshevik Revolution. 1970 - The U.S. forces in Vietnam down a MIG-21, it was the first since September 1968. 1976 - The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from a respirator. Quinlan remained comatose until 1985 when she died. 1980 - U.S. President Carter deregulated the banking industry. 1981 - In Bangkok, Thailand, four of five Indonesian terrorists were killed after hijacking an airplane on March 28. 1985 - ABC-TV aired the 200th episode of "The Love Boat." 1986 - 167 people died when a Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashed in Los Angeles. 1987 - HBO (Home Box Office) earned its first Oscar for "Down and Out in America". 1989 - Canada and France signed a fishing rights pact. 1991 - Albania offered a multi-party election for the first time in 50 years. Incumbent President Ramiz Alia won. 1991 - Iraqi forces recaptured the northern city of Kirkuk from Kurdish guerillas. 1993 - Brandon Lee was killed accidentally while filming a movie. 1994 - "Nature" magazine announced that a complete skull of Australppithecus afarensis had been found in Ethiopia. The finding is of humankind's earliest ancestor. 1998 - U.N. Security Council imposed arms embargo on Yugoslavia. 1998 - Buddy Hackett received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1998 - For the first time in U.S. history the federal government's detailed financial statement was released. This occurred under the Clinton administration. 1999 - Three U.S. soldiers were captured by Yugoslav soldiers three miles from the Yugoslav border in Macedonia. 1999 - Fabio was hit in the face by a bird during a promotional ride of a new roller coaster at the Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, VA. Fabio received a one-inch cut across his nose. 2000 - In Uganda, officials set the number of deaths linked to a doomsday religious cult, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, at more than 900. In Kanungu, a March 17 fire at the cult's church killed more than 530 and authorities subsequently found mass graves at various sites linked to the cult. 2004 - Air America Radio launched five stations around the U.S. 2004 - Google Inc. announced that it would be introducing a free e-mail service called Gmail. 2016 - Apple released the iPhone SE. IF TODAY IS YOUR BIRTHDAY YOU SHARE IT WITH: Rene Descartes 1596 - Philosopher, "I think, therefore I am" Andrew Marvell 1621 - Poet Nikolai Gogol 1809 - Playwright, novelist Edward Fitzgerald 1809 - Author Robert Wilhelm Bunsen 1811 Mary Chestnut 1823 - Author Sir Dugald Clerk 1854 - Engineer Jack Johnson 1878 - Boxer, author Henry Morgan 1915 - Comedian Tommy Bolt 1918 - Golfer Richard Kiley 1922 - Actor ("The Thorn Birds") Leo Buscaglia 1924 Cesar Chavez 1927 - Labor leader, founder of National Farm Workers Association William Daniels 1927 - Actor ("St. Elsewhere," voice of KITT on "Knight Rider") Gordie (Gordon) Howe 1928 - Hockey player (Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers) Lefty (William Orville) Frizzell 1928 - Country musician Liz Claiborne 1929 - Fashion designer Miller Barber 1931 - Golfer John Jakes 1932 - Author ("California," "In the Big Country") John D. Loudermilk 1934 - Country singer and songwriter Shirley Jones 1934 - Singer, Actress ("The Partridge Family") Richard Chamberlain 1934 - Actor ("The Bourne Identity") Judith Rossner 1935 - Novelist Billy Hicke 1938 - Hockey player Herb Alpert 1935 - Musician Christopher Walken 1943 - Actor ("The Deerhunter," "Pulp Fiction") Rod Allen 1944 - Musician (The Fortunes) Gabe Kaplan 1945 - Actor ("Welcome Back Kotter"), comedian Al Nichol 1946 - Musician (The Turtles) Al Gore 1948 - U.S. Vice President under President Bill Clinton Rhea Perlman 1948 - Actress ("Cheers"), comedian Mick Ralphs 1948 - Musician (Bad Company, Mott the Hoople) Ed Marinaro 1950 - Football player (Minnesota Vikings), Actor ("Hill Street Blues") Sean Hopper 1953 - Musician (Huey Lewis and The News) Angus Young 1955 - Guitar player (AC/DC) Marc McClure 1957 - Actor ("Freak Friday") William McNamara 1965 - Actor Pavel Bure 1971 - Hockey player Ewan McGregor 1971 - Actor ("Star Wars" movie series, "Moulin Rouge") Jessica Szohr 1985 - Actress ("Gossip Girl") Tags: almanac