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Almanac - Wednesday 8/16/17

Take a ride on the wild side...today is National Rollercoaster Day!

 

Today is Wednesday, August 16, 2017 the 228th day of the year with 137 days remaining.

  • Sunrise: 6:27am  
  • Sunset: 8:01pm

...giving us 13 hours and 34 minutes of daylight.  41% of the waning moon will be visible, setting at 3:42pm.
Tides at the Golden Gate

  • High:  8:21am/7:27pm
  • Low:  1:19am/12:57pm

Special international celebrations today…

  • Children's Day - Paraguay
  • Independence Day - Gabon
  • Restoration Day - Dominican Republic

It’s also…

  • National Airborne Day
  • National Medical Dosimetrist Day
  • National Rollercoaster Day
  • Wave at Surveillance Day
  • Tell A Joke Day
  • National Bratwurst Day
  • National Rum Day

On this day in…

 

1777 - During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Bennington took place. New England's minutemen routed the British regulars.

1812 - Detroit fell to Indian and British troops in the War of 1812.

1829 - The "Siamese twins," Chang and Eng Bunker, arrived in Boston,MA. They had come to the Western world to be exhibited. They were 18 years old and joined at the waist.

1842 - In New York City, the U.S. government took over operations of the City Despatch Post. This was the first congressionally authorized local postage delivery.

1858 - A telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria toU.S. President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.

1861 -U.S. President Lincoln prohibited the Union states from trading with the states of the Confederacy.

1923 - Carnegie Steel Corporation put into place the eight-hour workday for its employees.

1930 - The first British Empire Games were held at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The event is now called the British Commonwealth Games.

1937 - Harvard University became the first school to have graduate courses in traffic engineering and administration.

1954 -Sports Illustrated was published for the first time. It was claimed that 250,000 subscriptions had been sold before the first issue came off of the presses.

1954 - Jack Paar replaced Walter Cronkite as host of "The Morning Show" on CBS-TV.

1960 - Cyprus was granted independence by Britain.

1960 - The free-fall world record was set by Joseph Kittinger. He fell more than 16 miles (about 84,000 feet) before opening his parachute overNew Mexico.

1978 - Xerox was fined for excluding Smith-Corona Mfg. from the copier market. The fine was $25.6 million.

1984 - TheU.S. Jaycees voted to admit women to full membership in the organization.

1995 - Voters in Bermuda rejected independence from Great Britain.

1999 - In Russia, Vladimir V. Putin was confirmed as prime minister by the lower house of parliament.

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

  • Amos Alonzo Stagg 1862
  • Bernard McFadden 1868
  • George Meany 1894
  • Mae Clarke 1910
  • Menachem Begin (Israel) 1913
  • Al Hibbler 1915
  • Charles Bukowski 1920
  • Shimon Peres 1923 - Israeli politician
  • Fess Parker 1925
  • Ann Blyth 1928
  • Lois Nettleton 1929
  • Robert Culp 1930
  • Tony Trabert 1930 - Tennis player
  • Frank Gifford 1930 - Football player
  • Eydie Gorme 1931 - Singer
  • Julie Newmar 1933 - Actress ("Batman")
  • John Standing 1934
  • Anita Gillette 1936
  • Carole Shelley 1939
  • Billy Joe Shaver 1939
  • Barbara George 1942
  • Robert "Squirrel" Lester 1942 - Singer (The Chi-Lites)
  • Bob Balaban 1945 - Actor
  • Suzanne Farrell 1945
  • Lesley Ann Warren 1946 - Actress
  • Joey Spampinato (NRBQ) 1950
  • Reginald Vel Johnson 1952
  • Kathie Lee Gifford 1953 - Television host ("Today")
  • James J.T. Taylor (Kool and The Gang) 1953
  • James Cameron 1954 - Director
  • Tim Farriss (INXS) 1957
  • Angela Bassett 1958
  • Madonna Louise Ciccone 1958 - Singer
  • Belinda Carlisle (Go-Go's) 1958
  • Laura Innes 1959
  • Timothy Hutton 1960
  • Steve Carell 1962 - Actor ("The Office")
  • Donovan Leitch, Jr. 1968 - Actor, son of Donovan (the singer)
  • Andy Milder 1968 - Actor ("Weeds")
  • Emily Robison 1972 - Singer, musician, songwriter (The Dixie Chicks, Court Yard Hounds)
  • Vanessa Carlton 1980 - Singer
  • Rumer Willis 1988 - Actress
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.