© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Almanac - Friday 4/20/18

It's a day to light up...toke 'em if you got 'em...

 

Today is Friday, April 20, 2018, the 110th day of the year with 55 days remaining.

  • Sunrise: 6:27am  
  • Sunset: 7:52pm

...giving us 13 hours and 23 minutes of daylight.  17% of the moon will be visible, rising at 10:17am.

 

Tides at the Golden Gate

  • High: 2:52am/5:04pm
  • Low: 9:37am/9:41pm

It’s…

  • International Cli-Fi Day
  • National Cheddar Fries Day
  • National Pot Smokers Day
  • National Teach Children to Save Day
  • National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day
  • National Lima Bean Respect Day

On this day in…

1139 - The Second Lateran Council opened in Rome.

1534 - Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline.

1653 - In England, Oliver Cromwell expelled the Long Parliament for trying to pass the Perpetuation Bill that would have kept Parliament in the hands of only a few members.

1657 - English Admiral Robert Blake fought his last battle when he destroyed the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay.

1689 - The siege of Londonderry began. Supporters of James II attacked the city.

1769 - Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.

1775 - American troops began the siege of British-held Boston.

1792 - France declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia. It was the start of the French Revolutionary wars.

1809 - Napoleon defeated Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.

1836 - The U.S. territory of Wisconsin was created by the U.S. Congress.

1837 - Erastus B. Bigelow was granted a patent for his power loom.

1841 - In Philadelphia, PA, Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," was published in Graham's Magazine.

1861 - Robert E. Lee resigned from U.S. Army.

1865 - Safety matches were first advertised.

1879 - First mobile home (horse drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1902 - Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.

1912 - Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.

1916 - Sir Roger Casement landed in Ireland to incite rebellion against the British. Casement, a British diplomat, was captured within hours and was hanged for high treason on August 3.

1916 - Chicago's Wrigley Field held its first Cubs game with the first National League game at the ballpark. The Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-6 in 11 innings.

1919 - The Polish Army captured Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets.

1940 - The First electron microscope was demonstrated by RCA.

1942 - Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."

1945 - Soviet troops began their attack on Berlin.

1945 - During World War II, Allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

1953 - Operation Little Switch began in Korea. It was the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war. Thirty Americans were freed.

1953 - The Boston marathon was won by Keizo Yamada with a record time of 2:18:51.

1959 - "Desilu Playhouse" on CBS-TV presented a two-part show titled "The Untouchables."

1961 - FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC.

1962 - The New Orleans Citizens' Council offered a free one-way ride for blacks to move to northern states.

1967 - U.S. planes bombed Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War.

1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

1977 - Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" premiered.

1981 - A spokesman for the U.S. Nave announced that the U.S. was accepting full responsibility for the sinking of the Nissho Maru on April 9.

1982 - The Activision game Pitfall! was released for the Atari 2600 game system.

1984 - Britain announced that its administration of Hong Kong would cease in 1997.

1985 - In Madrid, Santiago Carillo was purged from the Communist Party. Carillo was a founder of Eurocommunism.

1987 - In Argentina, President Raul Alfonsin quelled a military revolt.

1988 - The U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled.

1989 - Scientist announced the successful testing of high-definition TV.

1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev became the first Soviet head of state to visit South Korea.

1992 - The worlds largest fair, Expo '92, opened in Seville, Spain.

1998 - Kenyan runner Moses Tanui, 32, won the Boston Marathon for the second time. He also registered the third fastest time with 2 hours 7 minutes and 34 seconds.

1999 - Jane Seymour received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...

  • Phillip Pinel 1745
  • Napoleon III 1808 - Emperor of France
  • Daniel Chester French 1850 - Sculptor, created Minute Man statue in Concord, MA, Abraham Lincoln seated in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC
  • Joan Miro 1893 - Artist
  • Harold Lloyd 1893 - Comedian, actor ("For Heaven's Sake")
  • Norman Norell (Norman David Levinson) 1900 - Costume designer, fashion designer
  • Lionel Hampton 1908 - Singer, songwriter, jazz musician, bandleader
  • Tito (Ernest) Puente 1923 - Jazz musician, bandleader
  • Nina Foch (Nina Consuelo Maud Fock) 1924 - Actress ("Spartacus", "An American in Paris")
  • Leslie Philips 1924 - Actor ("Harry Potter" films)
  • Henri Renaud 1925 - Jazz musician, pianist, record producer
  • Elena Verdugo 1926 - Actress ("Little Giants", "Meet Millie")
  • Phil Hill 1927 - Auto racer
  • Bob (Robert Earl) Braun 1929 - Television host ("The Bob Braun Show"), actor ("Die Hard 2", "The Young and the Restless")
  • Beaver Harris (William Godwin Harris) 1936 - Musician
  • George Takei 1937 - Actor ("Star Trek", "Star Trek" movie series)
  • Johnny Tillotson 1939 - Singer
  • Ryan O'Neal 1941 - Actor ("Love Story", "Peyton Place")
  • Michael Brandon (Feldman) 1945 - Actor ("Red Alert", "Promises in the Dark")
  • Jimmy Winston (Langwith) 1945 - Musician (Moments, Small Faces)
  • Steve Spurrier 1945 - Football player
  • Tom (Thomas George) Hutton 1946 - Baseball player
  • Brian Lavender 1947 - Hockey player
  • David Leland 1947 - Actor ("Time Bandits"), director
  • Joe Bonner 1948 - Jazz pianist, composer
  • Craig Frost 1948 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
  • Jessica Lange 1949 - Actress ("Tootsie", "Blue Sky")
  • Luther Vandross 1951 - Singer, songwriter
  • Denis Leary 1958 - Actor
  • Clint Howard 1959 - Actor ("Backdraft", "Cocoon")
  • Crispin Glover 1964 - Actor ("Dead Man", "Twister", "Back to the Future")
  • Mike Portnoy 1967 - Musician, drummer (Dream Theater)
  • Wade Hayes 1969
  • Carmen Electra 1972 - Actress ("Baywatch"), singer/rapper
  • Joey Lawrence 1976 - Actor ("Gimme a Break", "Blossom")

 

David Latulippe is host of On the Arts, KALW's weekly radio magazine of the performing arts, as well as for Explorations in Music, and the Berkeley Symphony broadcasts. He has also hosted and produced the radio series From the Conservatory, Music from Mills, and Music at Menlo, and is principal guest host for Revolutions Per Minute.