- Sunrise: 7:25am
- Sunset: 5:13pm
55% of the waning moon is visible, setting at 11:53am.
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 5:13am/5:54pm
- Low: 11:56am/11:04pm
Special Celebrations Today…
- Defenders of Freedom Day - Lithuania
- Liberation Day - Togo
- St. Melania’s Day - Ukraine
- Orthodox New Year - Serbia
And on the more...creative...side, it's also...
- Bean Day
- Make Your Dream Come True Day
- National Poetry at Work Day
- Public Radio Broadcasting Day
- Rubber Ducky Day
On this day in...
1128 - Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar. He declared it to be an army of God.
1794 - U.S. President Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.
1854 - Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, PA, was granted the first U.S. patent for the accordion. He made improvements to the keyboard and enhanced the sound.
1893 - Britain's Independent Labor Party, a precursor to the current Labor Party, met for the first time.
1898 - Emile Zola's "J'accuse" was published in Paris.
1900 - In Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph decreed that German would be the language of the imperial army to combat Czech nationalism.
1906 - Hugh Gernsback, of the Electro Importing Company, advertised radio receivers for sale for the price of just $7.50 in "Scientific American" magazine.
1928 - Ernst F. W. Alexanderson gave the first public demonstration of television.
1942 - Henry Ford patented the plastic automobile referred to as the "Soybean Car." The car was 30% lighter than the average car.
1966 - Elizabeth Montgomery’s character, Samantha, on "Bewitched," had a baby. The baby's name was Tabitha.
1966 - Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by U.S. President Johnson.
1984 - Wayne Gretzky extended his NHL consecutive scoring streak to 45 games.
1986 - The NCAA adopted the controversial "Proposal 48," which set standards for Division 1 freshman eligibility.
1986 - "The Wall Street Journal" printed a real picture on its front page. The journal had not done this in nearly 10 years. The story was about artist, O. Winston Link and featured one of his works.
1990 - L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation's first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.
1992 - Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
1997 - Debbie Reynolds received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1998 - NBC agreed to pay almost $13 million for each episode of the TV show E.R. It was the highest amount ever paid for a TV show.
1998 - ABC and ESPN negotiated to keep "Monday Night Football" for $1.15 billion a season.
1998 - One of the 110 missing episodes of the British TV show "Doctor Who" was found in New Zealand.
1999 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) announced his retirement from the NBA.
2002 - The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." opened at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. More than 100 artists supplied the collection of 120 works of art.
2002 - Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.
2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.
2009 - Ethiopian military forces began pulling out of Somalia, where they had tried to maintain order for nearly two years.
Birthday celebrants today include (or included)...
- Horatio Alger, Jr. 1832
- Sophie Tucker 1884
- Alfred Fuller 1885 Earle Wheeler 1908
- Butter (Quentin) Jackson 1909
- Jeff Morrow 1913
- Robert Stack 1919
- Gwen Verdon 1925
- Liz Anderson 1930
- Frances Sternhagen 1930
- Charles Nelson Reilly 1931
- Billy Gray 1938 - Actor
- Richard Moll 1943
- Trevor Rabin 1954
- James LoMenzo 1959
- Kevin Anderson 1960
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus 1961
- Suggs (Graham McPherson) 1961
- Trace Adkins 1962
- Penelope Ann Miller 1964
- Patrick Dempsey 1966
- Tim Kelly 1967
- Nicole Eggert 1972
- Orlando Bloom 1977
- Marc Staal 1987
