Sax great Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996) born this day.
Today is Friday, April 6, 2018 the 96th day of the year with 269 days remaining.
- Sunrise: 6:47am
- Sunset: 7:37pm
...giving us 12 hours and 50 minutes of daylight. 73% of the waning moon will be visible, setting at 11:04am
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 3:52am/6:22pm
- Low: 10:46am/11:05pm
Special international celebrations today…
- Chakri Day - Thailand (see 1782 below)
- Drop of Water is a Grain of Gold Day - Turkmenistan
- National Tartan Day - USA
- Uprising Day - Sudan
It’s also…
- Drowsy Driver Awareness Day
- Hospital Admitting Clerks Day
- International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
- Teflon Day (see 1938)
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Day (see 1830)
- National Kids Yoga Day
- National Student Athlete Day
- National Walk To Work Day
- New Beers Eve
- Charlie the Tuna Day
- Hostess Twinkie Day (see 1930)
- National Pie Day
On this day in…
1199 - English King Richard I was killed by an arrow at the siege of the castle of Chaluz in France.
1607 - An expedition led by Captain Christopher Newport arrived at the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico for supplies before continuing on their journey. On May 14, they went ashore and founded Jamestown, Virginia, as the first permanent English colony in America.
1652 - Jan van Riebeeck established a settlement at Cape Town, South Africa.
1782 - In Thailand, the founding of the Chakri dynasty.
1789 - The firstU.S. Congress began regular sessions at the Federal Hall in New York City.
1814 - Granted sovereignty in the island of Elba and a pension from the French government, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates at Fountainebleau. He was allowed to keep the title of emperor.
1830 - Joseph Smith and five others organized the Mormon Church in westernNew York.
1830 - Relations between the Texans and Mexico reached a new low when Mexico would not allow further emigration into Texas by settlers from theU.S.
1862 - The American Civil War Battle of Shiloh began inTennessee.
1865 - At the Battle of Sayler's Creek, a third of Lee's army was cut off by Union troops pursuing him to Appomattox.
1875 - Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the multiple telegraph, which sent two signals at the same time.
1896 - The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece.
1903 - French Army Nationalists were revealed for forging documents to guarantee a conviction for Alfred Dryfus.
1909 - Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the first men to reach the North Pole.
1916 - Charlie Chaplin became the highest-paid film star in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation for $675,000 a year. He was 26 years old.
1917 - TheU.S. Congress approved a declaration of war on Germany and entered World War I on the Allied side.
1924 - Four planes left Seattle on the first successful flight around the world.
1927 - William P. MacCracken, Jr. earned license number ‘1’ when the Department of Commerce issued the first aviator’s license.
1930 'Twinkies' go on sale for the first time. They originally had a banana creme filling and were sold two for a nickel.
1931 - "Little Orphan Annie" debuted on the NBC Blue network.
1938 - The United States recognized the German conquest of Austria.
1938 Du Pont research chemist Roy J. Plunkett accidentally discovered Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE).
1941 - German forces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.
1953 - Iranian Premier Mossadegh demanded that the shah's power be reduced.
1957 - Trolley cars in New York City completed their final runs.
1959 - Hal Holbrook opened in the off-Broadway presentation of "Mark Twain Tonight."
1965 -U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of ground troops in combat operations in Vietnam.
1967 - In South Vietnam, 1,500 Viet Cong attacked Quangtri and freed 200 prisoners.
1981 - A Yugoslav Communist Party official confirmed reports of intense ethnic riots in Kosovo.
1983 - The U.S. Veteran's Administration announced it would give free medical care for conditions traceable to radiation exposure to more than 220,000 veterans who participated in nuclear tests from 1945 to 1962.
1985 - William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient to be discharged from the hospital.
1987 - Dennis Levine began a two-year jail term for insider trading.
1987 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,400 for the first time.
1987 - Sugar Ray Leonard took the middleweight title from Marvin Hagler.
1988 - Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.
1997 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) announced that he would retire from theNational Hockey League (NHL) following the playoffs of the current season.
1998 - Citicorp and Travelers Group announced that they would be merging. The new creation was the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world. The name would become Citigroup.
1998 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time.
1998 - Federal researchers in theU.S. announced that daily tamoxifen pills could cut breast cancer risk among high-risk women.
1998 - Pakistan successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of attacking neighboring India.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...
- Raphael Santi 1483 - Artist
- Rose Schneiderman 1882 - U.S. women’s rights activist
- Walter Huston (Houghston) 1884 - Actor (Treasure of the Sierra Madre [1948])
- Lowell Thomas 1892 - Broadcaster, journalist
- "Pappy" Wade Ray 1913 - Country musician, entertainer ("Grand Ol' Opry")
- Mimi Benzell 1924 - Opera singer
- Gerry Mulligan 1927 - Jazz musician, composer
- André (Ludwig) Previn 1929 - Pianist, composer of film scores ("Gigi", "Porgy and Bess"), conductor
- Ivan Dixon 1931 - Actor ("Hogan's Heroes"), director, producer
- Merle Haggard 1937 - Country musician, songwriter
- Billy Dee (December) Williams 1937 - Actor ("Brian's Song", "The Return of the Jedi", "Batman")
- Roy Thinnes 1938 - Actor ("The Invaders", "Outer Limits")
- Philip Austin 1941 - Comedian and writer
- Barry Levinson 1942 - Director, producer
- Marty (Martin William) Pattin 1943 - Baseball pitcher
- John Stax 1944 - Musician (The Pretty Things)
- John Ratzenberger 1947 - Actor ("Cheers")
- Marilu Henner 1952 - Actress ("Taxi", "Evening Shade", "Cannonball Run 2")
- Michael Rooker 1955 - Actor (TV: "The Walking Dead")
- Warren Haynes 1960 - Musician (Gov't Mule,The Allman Brothers)
- Frank Black 1965 - Singer, musician (The Pixies)
- Vince Flynn 1966 - Author
- Paul Rudd (Paul Stephen Rudd) 1969 - Actor ("Friends")
- Ari Meyers 1970 - Actress ("Author! Author!", "Kate & Allie")
- Jason Hervey 1972 - Actor ("The Wonder Years", "Back to the Future")
- Markku Lappalainen 1973 - Musician (Hoobastank)
- Zach Braff 1975 - Actor ("Scrubs")
- Candace Cameron Bure 1976 - Actress ("Full House")
