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Almanac - Wednesday 12/5/18

Today is Wednesday, the 5th of December of 2018. It is the 339th day of the year...

There are 26 days remaining until the end of the year...16 days until winter begins...

699 days until presidential elections on Tuesday November 3, 2020

(1 year 10 months and 29 days from today)

The sun will rise in  at 7:11 am 

and sunset will be at 4:51 pm.

We will have 9 hours and 40 minutes of daylight.

Solar noon will be at 12:01 pm.

The first low tide was at 3:11 am

and the next low tide at 4:16 pm.

The first high tide will be at 9:37 am 

and the next high tide at 11:10 pm.

The Moon is 3.3% visible; a Waning Crescent

Moon Direction:105.57° ESE

Moon Altitude:-3.35°

Moon Distance:241229 mi

Next New Moon: Thursday December 6, 2018 at 11:20 pm

Next Full Moon: Saturday December 22, 2018 at 9:48 am

Next Moonrise: Today 5:23 am

Today is…

Bathtub Party Day

International Ninja Day

International Volunteer Day

Krampusnacht

National Blue Jeans Day

National Communicate With Your Kids Day

National Commute With Your Baby Day

National Sacher Torte Day

Repeal Day

Special Kids Day

Tonight, we light the 4th candle on the menorah for the 4th evening of Hannukah

Today is also…

Children's Day in Suriname

Day of Military Honour - Battle of Moscow in Russia

Discovery Day in Haiti and Dominican Republic

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

Klozum in SchiermonnikoogNetherlands

Saint Nicholas' Eve in BelgiumCzech RepublicSlovakia, the NetherlandsHungaryRomaniaGermanyPoland and the UK

Krampusnacht in Austria

The King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Birthday in Thailand

World Soil Day

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

1782 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)

1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)

1890 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1976)

1901 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966)

1901 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist and author (d. 1980)

1902 – Strom Thurmond, American educator, general, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (d. 2003)

1905 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1986)

1907 – Lin Biao, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 1971)

1911 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2000)

1912 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1965)

1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (d. 1980)

1926 – Adetowun Ogunsheye, first female Nigerian professor and university dean[1]

1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor

1934 – Joan Didion, American novelist and screenwriter

1935 – Calvin Trillin, American novelist, humorist, and journalist

1936 – James Lee Burke, American journalist, author, and academic

1938 – J. J. Cale, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)

1947 – Jim Messina, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1947 – Jim Plunkett, American football player and radio host

1963 – Doctor Dré, American television and radio host

1963 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and playwright (d. 2002)

1968 – Margaret Cho, American comedian, actress, producer, and screenwriter

1968 – Lisa Marie, American model and actress

…and on this day in history…

1766 – In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale.

1831 – Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.

1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.

1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

1935 – Mary McLeod Bethune founds the National Council of Negro Women in New York City.

1952 – Great Smog: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.

1955 – The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL–CIO.

1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

1983 – Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.

1999 – Helen Clark is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand, the second woman to hold the post and the first to be elected to the role.

2004 – The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.