KALW’s Daily Almanac for Thursday, September 5, 2013
Sunrise in San Francisco: 6:43 a.m. Sunset: 7:32 p.m. Day Length: 12 hours, 49 minutes
Moonrise: 7:00 a.m. Moonset: 7:29 p.m. Today’s moon is NEW
On this date in history …
1698 - Russia's Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards.
1774 - The first session of the U.S. Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. The delegates drafted a declaration of rights and grievances, organized the Continental Association, and elected Peyton Randolph as the first president of the Continental Congress.
1793 - In France, the "Reign of Terror" began. The National Convention enacted measures to repress the French Revolutionary activities.
1836 - Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
1877 - Sioux chief Crazy Horse was killed by the bayonet of a U.S. soldier. The chief allegedly resisted confinement to a jail cell.
1881 - The American Red Cross provided disaster relief for the first time. The disaster was the Great Fire of 1881 in Michigan.
1882 - The first U.S. Labor Day parade was held in New York City.
1885 - Jake Gumper bought the first gasoline pump to be manufactured in the U.S.
1900 - France proclaimed a protectorate over Chad.
1901 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues was formed in Chicago, IL. It was the first organized baseball league.
1914 - Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional player in the International League.
1914 - The Battle of the Marne began. The Germans, British and French fought for six days killing half a million people.
1917 - Federal raids were carried out in 24 cities on International Workers of the World (IWW) headquarters. The raids were prompted by suspected anti-war activities within the labor organization.
1930 - Charles Creighton and James Hagris completed the drive from New York City to Los Angeles and back to New York City all in reverse gear. The trip took 42 days in their 1929 Ford Model A.
1938 - The NBC Red network broadcast "Life Can Be Beautiful" for the first time.
1939 - The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality in World War II.
1945 - Iva Toguri D'Aquino was arrested. D'Aquino was suspected of being the wartime radio propagandist "Tokyo Rose". She served six years and was later pardoned by U.S. President Ford.
1953 - The first privately operated atomic reactor opened in Raleigh, NC.
1957 - Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" was first published.
1958 - The first color videotaped program was aired. It was "The Betty Freezor Show" on WBTV-TV in Charlotte, NC.
1958 - Boris Pasternak's "Doctor Zhivago" was published for the first time in the U.S.
1960 - Cassius Clay of Louisville, KY, won the gold medal in light heavyweight boxing at the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. Clay later changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
1961 - The U.S. government made airline hijacking a federal offense.
1971 - J.R. Richard (Houston Astros) tied Karl Spooner’s record when he struck out 15 batters in his major-league baseball debut.
1977 - The U.S. launched Voyager .
1980 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opened in Switzerland. It is the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles long.
1982 - Eddie Hill set a propeller-driven boat water speed record when he reached 229 mph.
1983 - U.S. President Reagan denounced the Soviet Union for shooting down a Korean Air Lines. Reagan demanded that the Soviet Union pay reparations for the act that killed 269 people.
1983 - "Sports Illustrated" became the first national weekly magazine to use four-color process illustrations on every page.
1983 - The "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) became the first hour-long television network news show.
1984 - The space shuttle Discovery landed after its maiden voyage.
1984 - Mortimer Zuckerman purchased the newsmagazine, "U.S. News & World Report" for $163 million.
1985 - Rioting in South Africa spilled into white neighborhoods for the first time.
1986 - Merv Griffin aired his final program for Metromedia Television after 23 years on various talk shows.
1986 - NASA launched DOD-1.
1989 - Chris Evert retired from professional tennis after a 19 year career.
1989 - Deborah Norville became the news anchor of the "Today" show.
1990 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein urged for a Holy War against the West and former allies.
1991 - Soviet lawmakers created an interim government to usher in the confederation after dissolving the U.S.S.R. The new name the Union of Sovereign States was taken.
1992 - Nearly 43,000 workers ended their strike against General Motors Corporation with a new agreement approved.
1995 - France set off an underground nuclear blast in the South Pacific.
1996 - The play "Summer and Smoke" opened at the Criterion Theatre.
2001 - Fox News Channel terminated Paula Zahn for breach of contract.
2003 - In London, magician David Blaine entered a clear plastic box and then suspended by a crane over the banks of the Thames River. He remained there until October 19 surviving only on water.
Birthdays: if Sept. 5 is your special day, you share it with:
Louis VIII (King of France) 1187
Louis XIV (King of France) 1638
Johann Christian Bach 1735
Jesse James 1847
Morris Carnovsky 1897
Arthur Charles Nielsen 1897
Florence Eldridge 1901
Darryl F. Zanuck 1902
Arthur Koestler 1905
John Cage 1912
Gail Kubik 1914
Jack Buetel 1917
Jack Valenti 1921
Bob Newhart 1929 - Actor, comedian
Andrian G Nikolayev 1929
Robert Dennard 1932
Carol Lawrence 1935
John Ferguson 1938
William Devane 1939
Clay Regazzoni 1939
Susumu Tonegawa 1939
John Stewart (The Kingston Trio) 1939
Raquel Welch 1940
Eduardo Mata 1942
Steve Miller 1943
Al Stewart 1945
Buddy Miles 1946
Loudon Wainwright III 1946
Freddie Mercury (Queen) 1946
Kathy Cronkite 1950
Cathy Lee Guisewaite 1950
Jamie Oldaker (The Tractors) 1951
Sandra Guiboard 1956
Kristian Alfonso 1964
Terry Ellis (En Vogue) 1966
Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) 1968
Dweezil Zappa 1969
Tina Yothers 1973
Rose McGowan 1974
Andrew Ducote 1986