13th day of 2016, 353 remain
Sunrise: 7:25am
Sunset: 5:12pm
Moonrise: 9:47am (9% visible)
Moonset: 9:36pm
Tides at the Golden Gate
High: 2:17am/1:28pm
Low: 7:24am/7:51pm
International Celebrations today include...
Defenders of Freedom Day - Lithuania
Liberation Day - Togo
St. Melania's Day - Ukraine
Orthodox New Year - Serbia
It's also...
Make Your Dream Come True Day
National Sticker Day
Public Radio Broadcasting Day
Rubber Duckie Day
On this day in…
1128 - Pope Honorius II granted a papal sanction to the military order known as the Knights Templar. He declared it to be an army of God.
1794 - U.S. President Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the union.
1854 - Anthony Faas of Philadelphia, PA, was granted the first U.S. patent for the accordion. He made improvements to the keyboard and enhanced the sound.
1893 - Britain's Independent Labor Party, a precursor to the current Labor Party, met for the first time.
1898 - Emile Zola's "J'accuse" was published in Paris.
1900 - In Austria-Hungary, Emperor Franz Joseph decreed that German would be the language of the imperial army to combat Czech nationalism.
1906 - Hugh Gernsback, of the Electro Importing Company, advertised radio receivers for sale for the price of just $7.50 in "Scientific American" magazine.
1928 - Ernst F. W. Alexanderson gave the first public demonstration of television.
1942 - Henry Ford patented the plastic automobile referred to as the "Soybean Car." The car was 30% lighter than the average car.
1966 - Elizabeth Montgomery’s character, Samantha, on "Bewitched," had a baby. The baby's name was Tabitha.
1966 - Robert C. Weaver became the first black Cabinet member when he was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by U.S. President Johnson.
1984 - Wayne Gretzky extended his NHL consecutive scoring streak to 45 games.
1986 - The NCAA adopted the controversial "Proposal 48," which set standards for Division 1 freshman eligibility.
1986 - "The Wall Street Journal" printed a real picture on its front page. The journal had not done this in nearly 10 years. The story was about artist, O. Winston Link and featured one of his works.
1990 - L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the nation's first elected black governor, took the oath of office in Richmond.
1992 - Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
1998 - One of the 110 missing episodes of the British TV show "Doctor Who" was found in New Zealand.
1999 - Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) announced his retirement from the NBA.
2002 - The exhibit "In the Spirit of Martin: The Living Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." opened at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. More than 100 artists supplied the collection of 120 works of art.
2002 - Japan and Singapore signed a free trade pact that would remove tariffs on almost all goods traded between the two countries.
2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush fainted after choking on a pretzel.
2009 - Ethiopian military forces began pulling out of Somalia, where they had tried to maintain order for nearly two years.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)…
Horatio Alger, Jr. 1832
Sophie Tucker 1884
Alfred Fuller 1885
Butter (Quentin) Jackson 1909
Robert Stack 1919
Gwen Verdon 1925
Liz Anderson 1927
Frances Sternhagen 1930
Charles Nelson Reilly 1931
Billy Gray 1938
Richard Moll 1943
Trevor Rabin 1954
James LoMenzo 1959
Kevin Anderson 1960
Julia Louis-Dreyfus 1961
Penelope Ann Miller 1964
Patrick Dempsey 1966
Nicole Eggert 1972
Orlando Bloom 1977