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Almanac - Friday 3/29/19

Erno Rubik was granted a patent for his Magic Cube on this day in 1983.

Today is Friday, March 29, 2019, the 88th day of the year, the 9th day of spring, and a mere 585 days until the next presidential election.    

  • Sunrise: 7:00am    
  • Sunset: 7:30pm ...giving us 10 hours and 14 minutes of daylight.  44% of the waning moon visible, rising at 3:31am.

Tides at the Golden Gate          

  • High: 7:01am/9:36pm    
  • Low: 1:28am/2:04pm

Special celebrations & commemorations today…

  • Boganda Day - Central African Republic
  • Memorial Day - Madagascar
  • Youth Day - Taiwan
  • International Dance Day
  • "Peace" Rose Day
  • World Wish Day
  • Zipper Day
  • Smoke and Mirrors Day
  • National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

On this day in…

1461 - Edward IV secured his claim to the English thrown by defeating Henry VI’s Lancastrians at the battle of Towdon.

1638 - First permanent European settlement in Delaware was established.

1847 -U.S. troops under General Winfield Scott took possession of the Mexican stronghold at Vera Cruz.

1848 - Niagara Falls stopped flowing for one day due to an ice jam.

1867 - The British Parliament passed the North America Act to create the Dominion of Canada.

1903 - A regular news service began between New York and London on Marconi's wireless.

1913 - The Reichstag announced a raise in taxes in order to finance the new military budget.

1932 - Jack Benny made his radio debut.

1943 - In theU.S. rationing of meat, butter and cheese began during World War II.

1951 - The Chinese reject MacArthur's offer for a truce in Korea.

1951 - In theUnited States, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. They were executed in June 19, 1953.

1961 - The 23rd amendment to theU.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment allowed residents of Washington,DC, to vote for president.

1962 - Cuba opened the trial of the Bay of Pigs invaders.

1966 - Leonid Brezhnev became the First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. He denounced the American policy in Vietnam and called it one of aggression.

1971 - Lt. William Calley Jr., of theU.S. Army, was found guilty of the premeditated murder of at least 22 Vietnamese civilians. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial was the result of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam on March 16, 1968.

1971 - A jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. The death sentences were later commuted to life in prison.

1973 - The lastU.S. troops left South Vietnam.

1974 - Mariner 10, theU.S. space probe became the first spacecraft to reach the planet Mercury. It had been launched on November 3, 1973.

1974 - EightOhio National Guardsmen were indicted on charges stemming from the shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. All the guardsmen were later acquitted.

1975 - Egyptian president Anwar Sadat declared that he would reopen the Suez Canal on June 5, 1975.

1979 - The Committee on Assassinations Report issued byU.S. House of Representatives stated the assassination ofPresident John F. Kennedy was the result of a conspiracy.

1983 - Erno Rubik was granted a patent for his Magic Cube. (U.S. Patent 4,378,116)

1986 - A court in Rome acquitted six men in a plot to kill the Pope.

1992 - Democratic presidential front-runner Bill Clinton said "I didn't inhale and I didn't try it again" in reference to when he had experimented with marijuana.

1993 - The South Korean government agreed to pay financial support to women who had been forced to have sex with Japanese troops during World War II.

1993 -Clint Eastwood won his first Oscars. He won them for best film and best director for the film "Unforgiven."

1995 - TheU.S. House of Representatives rejected a constitutional amendment that would have limited terms to 12 years in theU.S. House and Senate.

1999 - At least 87 people died in an earthquake in India's Himalayan foothills.

1999 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 10,000 mark for the first time.

2004 - Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia became members of NATO.

2010 - In Japan, the Tokyo Skytree tower became the tallest structure in Japan when it reached 1,109 feet.

Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...

  • John Tyler (U.S.) 1790
  • Cy Young 1867
  • Howard Lindsay 1888
  • William Walton 1902
  • Phillip Ahn 1905
  • Edward Biggs 1906
  • Phil Foster 1914
  • Eugene McCarthy 1916
  • Sam Walton 1918
  • Pearl Mae Bailey 1918
  • Eileen Heckart 1919
  • John McLaughlin 1927 - TV host
  • Judith Guest 1936 - Author
  • Richard Rodney Bennett 1936
  • Scott Wilson 1942 - Actor (TV: "The Walking Dead")
  • Vangelis 1943 - Composer ("Chariots of Fire")
  • Eric Idle 1943 - Comedian ("Monty Python")
  • John Major 1943 - Former British prime minister
  • Billy Vukovich 1944
  • Walt "Clyde" Frazier 1945 - Basketball player
  • Bobby Kimball 1947 - Singer (Toto)
  • Michael Brecker 1949 - Musician (The Brecker Brothers)
  • Chris Lawford 1955 - Actor
  • Kurt Thomas 1956 - Olympic gymnast
  • Christopher Lambert 1957 - Actor
  • Perry Farrell 1958 - Singer (Jane's Addiction,Porno for Pyros)
  • Amy Sedaris 1961 - Comedian, actress ("Strangers with Candy")
  • Elle MacPherson 1964 - Model
  • Lucy Lawless 1968 - Actress ("Xena: Warrior Princess")
  • Jennifer Capriati 1976 - Tennis player

David Latulippe is host of On the Arts, KALW's weekly radio magazine of the performing arts, as well as for Explorations in Music, and the Berkeley Symphony broadcasts. He has also hosted and produced the radio series From the Conservatory, Music from Mills, and Music at Menlo, and is principal guest host for Revolutions Per Minute.