Today is Wednesday, April 5, 2017 the 95th day of the year with 270 days remaining.
- Sunrise: 6:48am
- Sunset: 7:37pm
...giving us 12 hours and 48 minutes of daylight. 61% of the waxing moon will be visible, rising at 2:24pm.
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 7:30am/9:27pm
- Low: 1:38am/2:14pm
Special international celebrations today…
- Arbor Day - South Korea
- Ching Ming Festival - Taiwan
- Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day) - China
It’s also…
- Molasses Day
- National Caramel Day
- National Raisin & Spice Bar Day
- National Deep Dish Pizza Day
- Read A Road Map Day
On this day in…
1242 - Russian troops repelled an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1614 - American Indian Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
1621 - The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, MA, on a return trip to England.
1792 -U.S. President George Washington cast the first presidential veto. The measure was for apportioning representatives among the states.
1806 - Isaac Quintard patented the cider mill.
1827 - James H. Hackett became the first American actor to appear abroad as he performed at Covent Garden in London, England.
1843 - Queen Victoria proclaimed Hong Kong to be a British crown colony.
1869 - Daniel Bakeman, the last surviving soldier of the U.S. Revolutionary War, died at the age of 109.
1887 - Anne Sullivan taught Helen Keller the meaning of the word "water" as spelled out in the manual alphabet.
1892 - Walter H. Coe patented gold leaf in rolls.
1892 - In New York, the Ithaca Daily Journal published an ad introducing a new 10 cent Ice Cream Specialty called a Cherry Sunday.
1895 - Playwright Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry. Wilde had been accused of homosexual practices.
1908 - The Japanese Army reached the Yalu River as the Russians retreated.
1919 - Eamon de Valera became president of Ireland.
1923 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began the first regular production of balloon tires.
1930 - Mahatma Ghandi defied British law by making salt in India.
1933 - The first operation to remove a lung was performed at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
1941 - German commandos secured docks along the Danube River in preparation for Germany’s invasion of the Balkans.
1951 - Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for committing espionage for the Soviet Union.
1953 - Jomo Kenyatta was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison for orchestrating the Mau-Mau rebellion in Kenya.
1955 - Winston Churchill resigned as British prime minister.
1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) became the all-time NBA regular season scoring leader when he broke Wilt Chamberlain's record of 31,419 career points.
1985 - John McEnroe said "any man can beat any woman at any sport, especially tennis."
1986 - A discotheque in Berlin was bombed by Libyan terrorists. The U.S. attacked Libya with warplanes in retaliation on April 15, 1986.
1987 - FOX Broadcasting Company launched "Married....With Children" and "The Tracey Ullman Show". The two shows were the beginning of the FOX lineup.
1989 - In Poland, accords were signed between Solidarity and the government that set free elections for June 1989. The eight-year ban on Solidarity was also set to be lifted.
1998 - The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan opened becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world. It links Shikoku and Honshu. The bridge cost about $3.8 billion.
1999 - Two Libyans suspected of bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 were handed over so they could be flown to the Netherlands for trial. 270 people were killed in the bombing.
1999 - In Laramie, WY, Russell Henderson pled guilty to kidnapping and felony murder in the death of Matthew Shepard.
2004 - Near Mexico City's international airport, lightning struck the jet Mexican President Vicente Fox was on.
2009 - North Korea launched the Kwangmyongsong-2 rocket, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...
- Thomas Hobbes 1588
- Elihu Yale 1649
- Joseph Lister 1827 - British surgeon, inventor (Listerine mouthwash)
- Robert Smalls 1839
- Booker T. Washington 1856 - Educator, author (Up From Slavery)
- Spencer (Bonaventure) Tracy 1900 - Actor ("Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [1941]")
- Melvyn Douglas (Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg) 1901 - Actor ("Ghost Story", "Being There")
- Bette (Ruth Elizabeth) Davis 1908 - Actress ("Dangerous", "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?")
- Jagjivan Ram 1908 - Political leader in India
- Gregory Peck 1916 - Actor ("To Kill a Mockingbird [1962]", "The Guns of Navarone", "Captain Horatio Hornblower")
- Arthur Hailey 1920 - Author (Airport, The Final Diagnosis)
- Robert Q. Lewis 1921 - Comedian, TV quiz show panelist ("What's My Line", "To Tell the Truth")
- Gale Storm (Josephine Cottle) 1922 - Singer ("Ivory Tower"), actress ("My Little Margie")
- Stan Levey 1925 - Drummer (in band with Charlie Parker), composer
- Roger Corman 1926 - Director
- Tony Williams 1928 - Singer (Platters)
- Nigel Hawthorne 1929 - Actor ("Richard III", "Demolition")
- Cowboy Jack Clement 1931
- Billy Bland 1932 - Singer
- Frank Gorshin 1934 - Impressionist, actor ("Batman", "The Great Imposter")
- Stanley Turrentine 1934 - Saxophone player
- Colin Powell 1937 - U.S. Secretary of State, four-star general, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Ronnie White - Singer (The Miracles)
- Tommy Cash 1940 - Songwriter, country singer, brother of Johnny Cash
- David LaFlamme 1941
- Michael Moriarty 1941 - Actor ("Windmills of the Gods")
- Peter Greenaway 1942 - Director, writer
- Allan Clarke 1942 - Singer (The Hollies)
- Maxwell Gail 1943 - Actor ("Barney Miller")
- Crispian St. Peters 1944
- Dave Holland 1944 - Musician (Judas Priest)
- Doug Favell 1945 - Hockey player
- Jane Asher 1946 - Actress
- Dr. Judith A. Resnik 1949 - Electric engineer, astronaut
- Agnetha Faltskog 1950 - Singer (ABBA)
- Marv Bateman 1950 - Football player
- Rennie (Renaldo Antonio Porte) Stennett 1951 - Baseball player
- Brad Van Pelt 1951 - Football player
- Peter Greenaway 1952 - Director
- Peter Case 1954 - Musician (Plimsouls)
- Stan Ridgway 1954 - Musician (Wall of Voodoo)
- Mike McCready 1966 - Musician (Pearl Jam)
- Troy Gentry 1967 - Country singer
- Paula Cole 1968 - Singer
- Pharrell Williams 1973 - Rapper
