- 21st Day of 2013 / 344 Remaining
- 58 Days Until The First Day of Spring
- Sunrise:7:20
- Sunset:5:21
- 10 Hours 1 Minute of Daylight
- Moon Rise:10:52pm
- Moon Set:10:01am
- Moon’s Phase: 73 %
- The Next Full Moon
- February 14 @ 3:54 pm
- Full Snow Moon
- Full Hunger Moon
Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.
- Tides
- High:2:06am/1:38pm
- Low:8:04am/7:52pm
- Rainfall
- This Year:2.12
- Last Year:13.36
- Average Year to Date:12.15
- Holidays
- National Hugging Day
- National Granola Bar Day
- National Hot & Spicy Food Day (also August 19)
- Rid the World of Fad Diets & Gimmicks Day
- New England Clam Chowder Day
- International Fetish Day
- Errol Barrow Day-Barbados
- On This Day In …
- 1793 --- One day after being convicted of conspiracy with foreign powers and sentenced to death by the French National Convention, King Louis XVI is executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution in Paris. In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sans-cullottes and imprisoned, and in September the monarchy was abolished by the National Convention (which had replaced the National Assembly). In November, evidence of Louis XVI's counterrevolutionary intrigues with Austria and other foreign nations was discovered, and he was put on trial for treason by the National Convention. The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine.
- 1861 --- The future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, resigned from the U.S. Senate. Four other Southerners also resigned.
- 1908 --- The Sullivan Ordinance was passed in New York City making smoking by women illegal. The measure was vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.
- 1911 --- The first Monte Carlo car rally was held. Seven days later it was won by Henri Rougier.
- 1924 --- Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin died. Joseph Stalin began a purge of his rivals for the leadership of the Soviet Union.
- 1927 --- The first opera broadcast over a national radio network was presented in Chicago, IL. The opera was "Faust".
- 1932 --- Annunzio Paolo Mantovani gave a memorable concert at Queen’s Hall in England to ‘glowing notices’. This was the beginning of the musician’s successful recording career that provided beautiful music to radio stations for nearly five decades. Better known as just Mantovani, his music still entertains us with hits like, Red Sails in the Sunset, Serenade in the Night, Song from Moulin Rouge and Charmaine.
- 1942 --- Count Basie and His Orchestra recorded "One O'Clock Jump."
- 1951 --- A new women’s golf record was established by Mildred (Babe Didrikson) Zaharias as she won the Tampa Women’s Open. Her medal-play score was a record 288 for 72 holes. Medals and records were commonplace to Babe. She won two gold and one silver medal in the 1932 Olympics for the javelin throw, the 80-meter hurdles and the high jump, respectively. She was equally adept at basketball, baseball, billiards and golf; a member of the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, LPGA Hall of Fame (Babe was a founding member of the LPGA), National Track and Field Hall of Fame, Olympic Hall of Fame and the World Golf Hall of Fame. We now refer to her as the Famous Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
- 1954 --- The Nautilus was launched in Groton, CT. It was the first atomic-powered submarine. U.S. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow.
- 1959 --- The Kingston Trio (Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard) received a gold record for Tom Dooley. The single could be considered an early folk-form of rap music, considering its less than wholesome message about a guy named Tom Dooley who was going to be hanged - “Poor boy, you’re bound to, die.” The Kingston Trio recorded many hits, including: Greenback Dollar, M.T.A., Reverend Mr. Black, Tijuana Jail, and the war protest song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?.
- 1959 --- Carl Dean Switzer, the actor who as a child played "Alfalfa" in the Our Gang comedy film series, dies at age 31 in a fight, allegedly about money, in a Mission Hills, California, home. Alfalfa, the freckle-faced boy with a warbling singing voice and a cowlick protruding from the top of his head, was Switzer's best-known role. Switzer and a friend went to the Mission Hills home of Moses "Bud" Stiltz, to collect a debt Switzer believed he was owed. A fight broke out, during which Stiltz shot and killed Switzer. A jury later ruled the incident justifiable homicide.
- 1970 --- The Boeing 747 made its first commercial flight from New York to London for Pan American.
- 1970 --- ABC-TV presented The Johnny Cash Show in prime time. Previously, the show had been a summer replacement. The regular season series was a big boost for country music. Johnny wore black in the all-color show, however.
- 1976 --- From London's Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris, the first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously take flight on January 21, 1976. The London flight was headed to Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, and the Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Senegal in West Africa. At their cruising speeds, the innovative Concordes flew well over the sound barrier at 1,350 miles an hour, cutting air travel time by more than half.
- 1978 --- The soundtrack of Saturday Night Fever reached #1 on the album charts -- a position it held for the next six months.
- 1982 --- B.B. King donated his entire record collection to the University of Mississippi's Center for the Study of Southern Culture. The collection included about 20,000 rare blues records.
- 1977 --- President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
- 1987 --- Aretha Franklin inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.
- 1990 --- Tennis bad boy John McEnroe was disqualified and expelled for throwing a temper tantrum while leading in his Australian Open match against Mike Pernfors. McEnroe holds the distinction of being the first player to be expelled from the Australian Open. T rouble began in the seventh game of the fourth set, with McEnroe leading overall 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 2-4. Hitting a forehand wide to go down 15-30, McEnroe threw his racket to the ground, where it bounced on the court’s hard surface. Another wide McEnroe forehand prompted another racket smash, this one cracking the racket’s head. Armstrong called another code violation, for racket abuse, and McEnroe started swearing at him, demanding the intervention of Ken Farrar, the Grand Slam chief of supervisors. Farrar arrived and spoke with McEnroe, whose continued complaints and swears were audible to spectators and TV viewers. With Farrar’s authorization, Armstrong called a third and final code violation: "Default Mr. McEnroe. Game, set, match." The crowd of 150,000 rose to their feet, booing and chanting their support for McEnroe, as McEnroe himself stood with his hands on his hips, stunned. The last player to be disqualified from a Grand Slam for misconduct had been Willie Alvarez of Spain, in the 1963 French Open, 17 years earlier.
- 1997 --- Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.
- 2002 --- In London, a 17th century book by Capt. John Smith, founder of the English settlement at Jamestown, was sold at auction for $48,800. "The General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles" was published in 1632.
- Birthdays
- Attorney General Eric Holder
- Placido Domingo
- Wolfman Jack
- Richie Havens
- Benny Hill
- Mac Davis
- Jack Nicklaus
- Jill Eikenberry
- Billy Ocean
- Geena Davis
- Christian Dior
- John Fremont
- Ethan Allen
- Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
- Telly Savalas