154th day of 2015, 211 remaining
Sunrise: 5:49
Sunset: 8:27
Moonset: 6:56am
Moonrise: 9:30pm (99% visible, waning)
Tides at the Golden Gate:
- High: 12:02am/1:59pm
- Low: 6:44 am/6:31pm
Special celebrations today...
Martyr's Day - Uganda
Mabo Day - Australia
National Chocolate Macaroon Day
National Egg Day
Chimborazo Day
National Running Day
National Tailors Day
St. Morand's Day - patron of vintners, wine growers, wine makers. He founded the monastery of Saint Christopher at Altkirch. He is said to have lived the whole of each Lent on a single bunch of grapes.
On this day in...
1098 - Christian Crusaders of the First Crusade seized Antioch, Turkey.
1539 - Hernando De Soto claimed Florida for Spain.
1621 - The Dutch West India Company received a charter for New Netherlands (now known as New York).
1784 - The U.S. Congress formally created the United States Army to replace the disbanded Continental Army. On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress had created the Continental Army for purposes of common defense and this event is considered to be the birth of the United States Army.
1800 - John Adams moved to Washington, DC. He was the first President to live in what later became the capital of the United States.
1805 - A peace treaty between the U.S. and Tripoli was completed in the captain's cabin on board the USS Constitution.
1851 - The New York Knickerbockers became the first baseball team to wear uniforms.
1856 - Cullen Whipple patented the screw machine.
1888 - "Casey at the Bat" the poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published.
1918 - The Finnish Parliament ratified its treaty with Germany.
1923 - In Italy, Benito Mussolini granted women the right to vote.
1932 - Lou Gehrig set a major league baseball record when he hit four consecutive home runs.
1937 - The Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Warfield Simpson.
1938 - The German Reich voted to confiscate so-called "degenerate art."
1952 - A rebellion by North Korean prisoners in the Koje prison camp in South Korea was put down by American troops.
1959 - The first class graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.
1965 - Edward White became the first American astronaut to do a "space walk" when he left the Gemini 4 capsule.
1970 - Har Gobind Khorana and colleagues announced the first synthesis of a gene from chemical components.
1985 - After five years, the characters of Nancy and Chris Hughes returned to CBS-TV's "As the World Turns."
1989 - Chinese army troops positioned themselves to began a sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
1999 - Slobodan Milosevic's government accepted an international peace plan concerning Kosovo. NATO announced that airstrikes would continue until 40,000 Serb forces were withdrawn from Kosovo.
1999 - Dennis Muren received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2003 - Sammy Sosa (Chicago Cubs) broke a bat when he grounded out against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The bat he was using was a corked bat. (Illinois, Florida)
Birthday celebrants today include (or included)...
William Hone 1780 - Writer, satirist, bookseller, fought against government censorship in England
Richard Cobden 1804 - Manufacturer, English politician
Jefferson Davis 1808/1808 - American soldier, politician
Maurice Evans 1901 - Actor (Movies: "Planet of the Apes," TV: "Bewitched")
Jan Peerce 1904 - Operatic tenor
Josephine Baker 1906 - Dancer, singer and Actress
Ellen Corby 1911 - Actress (TV: "The Waltons")
Lily St. Cyr (Willis Marie VanSchaack) 1918 - Burlesque stripteaser, actress
Tony Curtis (Bernard Schwartz) 1925 - Actor
Allen Ginsberg 1926 - Writer, poet
Colleen Dewhurst 1924 - Actress
Boots Randolph 1927 - Musician, his saxophone hit became Benny Hill's signature tune
Chuck Barris 1929 - Producer, creater and game show host ("The Gong Show")
Dakota Staton (Aliyah Rabia) 1930 - Jazz vocalist
Larry McMurtry 1936 - Author ("Lonesome Dove")
Curtis Mayfield 1942 - Singer, songwriter, record producer
Billy Cunningham 1943 - Basketball player
Emmit Thomas 1943 - Football player
Michael Clarke 1946 - Musician (The Byrds)
Ian Hunter 1946 - Musician (Mott the Hoople)
Michael Burton 1947 - Swimmer
Too Slim 1948 - Musician (Riders in the Sky)
Suzi Quatro 1950 - Singer
Deniece Williams 1951 - Actress
Billy Powell 1952 - Musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) - Lynyrd Skynyrd Merchandise
Dan Hill (Daniel Grafton "Dan" Hill IV) 1954 - Singer, songwriter
Scott Valentine 1958 - Actor
Charles Hart 1961 - Lyricist, songwriter, musician
Mike Gordon 1965 - Musician (Phish)
Anderson Cooper 1967 - Broadcast journalist
Rafael Nadal 1986 - Tennis player
