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Almanac - Wednesday 2/7/18

Brooklyn Ballet 2014, taken by flickr user Ching

Today Wednesday, the 7th of February of 2018 is the 38th day of the year.

There are 327 days remaining until the end of the year

41 days until spring begins...

272 days until mid-term elections on Tuesday November 6, 2018

(8 months and 30 days from today)

1000 days until presidential elections Tuesday November 3, 2020

(2 years 8 months and 27 days from today)

The sun rose this morning at 7:07 am 

and sunset will be at 5:42 pm.

Today we will have 10 hours and 35 minutes of daylight.

Solar noon will be at 12:24 pm.

The first high tide was at 4:49 am

and the next high tide will be at 6:05 pm.

The first low tide will be at 11:35 am 

and the next low tide at 11:03 pm.

The Moon is currently  51.3% visible; a Waning Gibbous

(that’s what I call a Half-Moon; reminds me of the Janis Joplin song)

Moon Direction:  161.91° SSE

Moon Altitude: 37.78°

Moon Distance: 246300 mi

Next Moonset: Today11:35 am

Last Quarter Moon at 7:54 am Today

New Moon in 8 days on Thursday the 15th of February of 2018 at 1:05 pm

as well as a Partial Solar Eclipse

First Quarter Moon in 16 days on Friday the 23th of February of 2018 at 12:09 am

Full Moon in 22 days Thursday the 1st of March of 2018 at 4:51 pm

Today is…

"e" Day

Ballet Day

Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

International Clash Day

National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

National Girls and Women in Sports Day

Rose Day

Send a Card to a Friend Day

Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day

Today is also…

Independence Day (Grenada), celebrates the independence of Grenada from the United Kingdom in 1974.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)

On this day in history…

457 – Leo I the Thracian becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

1497 – The Bonfire of the Vanities occurs, during which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy.

1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

1894 – The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

1898 – Dreyfus affairÉmile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'accuse.

1900 – Second Boer WarBritish troops fail in their third attempt to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.

1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

1940 – The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.

1974 – Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.

1979 – Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.

1986 – Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.

1990 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.

1991 – Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.

1992 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.

1997 – NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.

1999 – Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.

2013 – The U.S. state of Mississippi officially certifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was formally ratified by Mississippi in 1995.

If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday to you!  You share this day with…

574 – Prince Shōtoku of Japan (d. 622)

1804 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded Deere & Company (d. 1886)

1812 – Charles Dickens, English Novelist and critic (d. 1870)

1825 – Karl Möbius, German zoologist and ecologist (d. 1908)

1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (d. 1957)

1885 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)

1898 – Dock Boggs, American folk singer-songwriter and banjo player (d. 1971)

1906 – Puyi, Chinese emperor (d. 1967)

1908 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)

1920 – Oscar Brand, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and author (d. 2016

1926 – Bill Hoest, American cartoonist (d. 1988

1932 – Gay Talese, American journalist and memoiris

1943 – Eric Foner, American historian, author, and academic

1962 – Garth Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1978 – Ashton Kutcher, American model, actor, producer, and entrepreneur

And on this day in black history…

courtesy ofhttps://blackamericaweb.com/

1994: The 21st Annual American Music Awards were held on this day and Whitney Houston was the big winner of the night, taking home eight awards. 

1883: Composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime and jazz music, Eubie Blake, was born this day in Baltimore. He along with Noble Sissle created 'Shuffle Along' and was the first musical written and performed by African Americans. It opened on Broadway in 1921.

1926: The Father of Black History, Carter G. Woodson, initiated the First National Negro Week on this day. In 1972, it was renamed Black History Week and in 1976 it became Black History Month.

1934: Blues singer, guitarist, songwriter and composer, Earl King was born on this day in 1934. He passed away in 2003.

1934: King Curtis, a saxophone virtuoso known for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, blues, funk and soul jazz, was born on this day in Fort Worth, TX. He passed away in 1971 in NYC.

1964: Cassius Clay became a Muslim and changed his name to Muhammad Ali on this day. 

1966: Award winning actor, comedian, writer and director Chris Rock was born on this day in Georgetown, SC. 

1972: Film and television actress Essence Atkins was born on this day in New York City. 

1974: "Love's Theme" is an instrumental piece recorded by Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra received a Gold Record on this day. It is one of the few instrumental and purely orchestral singles to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States.

1974: Blazing Saddles starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder opened in theaters on this day. 

1981: 'Celebration' by Kool & the Gang reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on this day and held the position for two weeks. 

1984: Michael Jackson was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records on this day as the album 'Thriller' passed 25 million copies 

1986: Debi Thomas won the senior women's title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on this day and became the first African-American to win a non-novice title. Thomas competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, winning the bronze and becoming the first African American to win a medal in any Winter Olympic sport. 

1989: A Georgia State legislative representative introduced a bill to make Little Richard's 'Tutti Fruitti' the state's official rock song on this day. 

1994: Dr. Dre won the Best Artist, Rap/Hip Hop award on this day at the American Music Awards twenty-first annual ceremonies in Los Angeles. 

2012: Patricia Stephens Due, a leader in the civil rights movement who paid a price for her activism, including 49 days in a Florida jail in 1960. She wore dark glasses day and night because her eyes were damaged when a tear gas canister hit her in the face. She died on this day of thyroid cancer in Smyrna, Georgia at age 72.