It's Cherry Blossom Day! (see 1912 below)
Today is Friday, March 27, 2020, the 87th day of the year. 85 days until summer, and only 221 days until presidential elections (if civilization survives).
- Sunrise: 7:02am
- Sunset: 7:29pm ...giving us 12 hours 8min of daylight. 5% of the waxing crescent moon will be visible, rising at 8:57am.
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 1:51am/2:42pm
- Low: 8:06am/7:59pm
Special celebrations & commemorations today…
- Armed Forces Day - Myanmar/Burma
- Evacuation Day - Angola
- Mount Arafat Day - Kuwait
- Skyscraper Day - USA
- National Scribble Day
- Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day
- International Whiskey Day
- Spanish Paella Day
- World Theatre Day
On this day in…
1794 - The U.S. Congress authorized the creation of the U.S. Navy.
1802 - The Treaty of Amiens was signed ending the French Revolutionary War.
1836 - In Goliad, TX, about 350 Texan prisoners, including their commander James Fannin, were executed under orders from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna. An estimated 30 Texans escaped execution.
1836 - The first Mormon temple was dedicated in Kirtland, OH.
1841 - The first steam fire engine was tested in New York City.
1860 - The corkscrew was patented by M.L. Byrn.
1866 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson vetoed the civil rights bill, which later became the 14th amendment.
1884 - The first long-distance telephone call was made from Boston to New York.
1899 - The first international radio transmission between England and France was achieved by the Italian inventor G. Marconi.
1900 - The London Parliament passed the War Loan Act that gave 35 million pounds to the Boer War cause in South Africa.
1900 - The Russian army mobilized 250,000 troops for active duty.
1901 - Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by the U.S.
1904 - Mary Jarris "Mother" Jones was ordered by Colorado state authorities to leave the state. She was accused of stirring up striking coal miners.
1907 - French troops occupied Oudja, Morocco, as a punitive action for the murder of French Dr. Muchamp.
1912 - The first cherry blossom trees were planted in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan.
1917 - The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens and became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.
1931 - Actor Charlie Chaplin received France’s Legion of Honor decoration.
1933 - About 55,000 people staged a protest against Hitler in New York City.
1933 - In the U.S., the Farm Credit Administration was authorized.
1941 - Tokeo Yoshikawa arrived in Oahu, HI, and began spying for Japan on the U.S. Fleet at Pearl Harbor.
1942 - The British raided the Nazi submarine base at St. Nazaire, France.
1946 - Four-month long strikes at both General Electric and General Motors ended with a wage increase.
1952 - The U.S. Eighth Army reached the 38th parallel in Korea, the original dividing line between the two Koreas.
1958 - Nikita Khrushchev became the chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party.
1958 - The U.S. announced a plan to explore space near the moon.
1976 - Washington, DC, opened its subway system.
1988 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
1989 - The U.S. anti-missile satellite failed the first test in space.
1993 - In China, Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin was appointed President.
1997 - Russian workers, nearly 2 million, held a nationwide strike to protest unpaid wages.
1997 - In Australia, Governor-General William Deane signed a bill to overturn a 1996 Northern Territory act to legalize assisted suicides. The 1996 act was the first in the world to permit assisted suicides.
1998 - In the U.S., the FDA approved the prescription drug Viagra. It was the first pill for male impotence.
1998 - Top civilian aircraft makers in France, Spain, Germany and Britain agreed to create a single European aerospace and defense company.
If today’s your birthday, you share it with…
- Louis XVII 1785
- Alfred Vigny 1797
- Nathaniel Currier 1813
- Sir Henry Royce 1863
- Patty Smith Hill 1868
- Gloria Swanson 1899
- Sarah Vaughan 1924
- Mstislav Rostropovich 1927 - Cellist, conductor
- David Janssen 1931
- Judy Carne 1939
- Michael York 1942 - Actor
- Tony Banks 1950 - Musician (Genesis)
- Maria Schneider 1952 - Actress
- Andrew Farriss 1959 - Musician (INXS)
- Quentin Tarantino 1963 - Movie director
- Derrick McKenzie 1964 - Musician (Jamiroquai)
- Mariah Carey 1970 - Singer
- Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson) 1975 - Singer (Black Eyed Peas)
