42nd Day of 2016, 324 Remaining
Spring Begins in 37 Days
Sunrise: 7:04am
Sunset: 5:44pm
10 Hours 40 Minutes of daylight today
Moon Rise: 9:01am, 6% visible, waxing
Moon Set: 9:39pm
Tides at the Golden Gate
High: 1:37am/1:25pm
Low: 7:08am/7:27pm
Special Celebrations today include…
Armed Forces Day - Liberia
Kenkokukinen no Hi / National Foundation Day - Japan
Youth Day - Cameroon
It’s also…
Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day
National Peppermint Patty Day
Fritter Thursday
Get Out Your Guitar Day
Make A Friend's Day
Pro Sports Wives Day
National Shut-in Visitation Day
Satisfied Staying Single Day
White Shirt Day or White T-shirt Day
On this day in…
1752 - The Pennsylvania Hospital opened as the very first hospital in America.
1808 - Judge Jesse Fell experimented by burning anthracite coal to keep his house warm. He successfully showed how clean the coal burned and how cheaply it could be used as a heating fuel.
1812 - The term "gerrymandering" had its beginning when the governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry, signed a redistricting law that favored his party.
1858 - A French girl, Bernadette Soubirous, claimed to have seen a vision of the Virgin Mary near Lourdes.
1878 - The first U.S. bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, was formed.
1929 - The Lateran Treaty was signed. Italy now recognized the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City.
1936 - Pumping began the process to build San Francisco's Treasure Island.
1937 - General Motors agreed to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union, which ended the current sit-down strike against them.
1943 - General Dwight David Eisenhower was selected to command the allied armies in Europe.
1945 - During World War II, the Yalta Agreement was signed by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin. (Today in World War II History)
1957 - The NHL Players Association was formed in New York City.
1958 - Ruth Carol Taylor was the first black woman to become a stewardess by making her initial flight.
1960 - Jack Paar walked off while live on the air on the "Tonight Show" with four minutes left. He did this in response to censors cutting out a joke from the show the night before.
1968 - The new 20,000 seat Madison Square Garden officially opened in New York. This was the fourth Garden.
1972 - McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. and Life magazine canceled plans to publish an autobiography of Howard Hughes. The work turned out to be fake.
1975 - Margaret Thatcher became the first woman to head a major party in Britain when she was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
1979 - Nine days after the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran (after 15 years in exile) power was seized by his followers.
1982 - France nationalized five groups of major industries and 39 banks.
1984 - The tenth Space Shuttle mission returned to Earth safely.
1989 - Rev. Barbara C. Harris became the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.
1990 - Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity.
1990 - In Tokyo, Japan, James "Buster" Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the tenth round to win the heavyweight championship.
1993 - Janet Reno was appointed to the position of attorney general by U.S. President Clinton. She was the first female to hold the position.
2000 - The space shuttle Endeavor took off. The mission was to gather information for the most detailed map of the earth ever made.
2000 - Great Britain suspended self-rule in Northern Ireland after the Irish Republican Army (IRA) failed to begin decommissioning (disarming) by a February deadline.
2002 - The six stars on NBC's "Friends" signed a deal for $24 million each for the ninth and final season of the series.
2006 - In Texas, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a quail hunt.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)…
Lydia Child 1802
Thomas Alva Edison 1847
Joseph Mankiewicz 1909
Sidney Sheldon 1917
Eva Gabor 1921
Lloyd Bentsen 1921
Kim Stanley 1925
Dr. Virginia Johnson 1925
Leslie Nielson 1926
Conrad Janis 1928
Larry Merchant 1931
Mary Quant 1934
Tina Louise 1934
Gerry Goffin 1935
Gene Vincent 1935
Sergio Mendes 1941
Burt Reynolds 1936
Bobby "Boris" Pickett 1938
Otis Clay 1942
Jeb Bush 1953
Phillip Anglim 1953
Catherine Hickland 1956
Carey Lowell 1961
Sheryl Crow 1962
Sarah Palin 1964
Jennifer Aniston 1969
Damian Lewis 1971
Michael Kenji "Mike" Shinoda
Brandy (Brandy Rayana Norwood) 1979
Taylor Lautner 1992
