Enjoy some strawberry shortcake today!
Today is Friday, June 14, 2019, the 165th day of the year. 200 days remain until the end of the year, and 8 days until summer.
- Sunrise: 5:47am
- Sunset: 8:33pm
...giving us 14 hours and 45 minutes of daylight. 85% of the waxing moon visible, rising at 6:04pm.
Tides at the Golden Gate
- High: 10:59am/10:17pm
- Low: 4:14am/3:45pm
Special celebrations & commemorations today…
- Commemoration Day of victims of the Communist Terror - Latvia
- Day of Mourning and Hope - Lithuania
- Flag Day - USA
- Freedom Day - Malawi
- Liberation Day - Falkland Islands
- World Sea Turtle Day
- World Blood Donor Day
- National Strawberry Shortcake Day
- National Bourbon Day
On this day in…
1775 - The Continental Army was founded by the Second Continental Congress for purposes of common defense. This event is considered to be the birth of the United States Army. On June 15, George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief.
1777 - The Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the "Stars and Stripes" as the national flag of the United States. The Flag Resolution stated "Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." On May 20, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed June 14 "Flag Day" as a commemoration of the "Stars and Stripes."
1789 - Captain William Bligh of the HMS Bounty arrived in Timor in a small boat.
1834 - Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his reaping machine.
1834 - Isaac Fischer Jr. patented sandpaper.
1841 - The first Canadian parliament opened in Kingston.
1846 - A group ofU.S. settlers in Sonoma proclaimed the Republic of California.
1893 - Philadelphia observed the first Flag Day.
1900 - Hawaii became aU.S. territory.
1907 - Women in Norway won the right to vote.
1917 - General John Pershing arrived in Paris during World War I.
1919 - The first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight began. Captain John Alcot and Lt. Arthur Brown flew from Newfoundland to Ireland.
1922 - Warren G. Harding became the firstU.S. president to be heard on radio. The event was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key memorial at Fort McHenry.
1927 - Nicaraguan President Adolfo Diaz signed a treaty with theU.S. allowing American intervention in his country.
1940 - The Nazis opened their concentration camp at Auschwitz in German-occupied Poland.
1940 - German troops entered Paris. As Paris became occupied loud speakers announced the implementation of a curfew being imposed for 8 p.m.
1943 - TheU.S. Supreme Court ruled that schoolchildren could not be made to salute theU.S. flag if doing so conflicted with their religious beliefs.
1944 - SixtyU.S. B-29 Superfortress' attacked an iron and steel works factory on Honshu Island.
1945 - Burma was liberated by Britain.
1949 - The state of Vietnam was formed.
1951 - "Univac I" was unveiled. It was a computer designed for theU.S. Census Bureau and billed as the world's first commercial computer.
1954 -U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an order adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.
1954 - Americans took part in the first nation-wide civil defense test against atomic attack.
1967 - Mariner 5 was launched from Cape Kennedy,FL. The space probe's flight took it past Venus.
1982 - Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the Falkland Islands.
1989 - FormerU.S. President Reagan received an honorary knighthood from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
Today’s birthday celebrants include (or included)...
- Harriet Beecher Stowe 1811
- Antoine-Joseph "Adolphe" Sax 1848
- Burl Ives 1909
- Dorothy McGuire 1916
- Sam Wanamaker 1919
- Pierre Salinger 1925
- Donald J. Trump 1946
- Janet Lennon 1947 - Singer (The Lennon Sisters)
- Barry Melton 1947 - Musician (Country Joe and the Fish)
- Alan White 1949 - Musician (Yes)
- Eddie Mekka 1952 - Actor ("Laverne and Shirley")
- Will Patton 1954 - Actor
- Eric Heiden 1958 - Olympic gold-medal speed skater
- Boy George (George O'Dowd) 1961 - Singer (Culture Club)
- Chris DeGarmo 1963 - Musician (Queensryche)
- Yasmine Bleeth 1968 - Actress ("Baywatch")
- Faizon Love 1968 - Actor
- Steffi Graf 1969 - Tennis player
- Traylor Howard 1971 - Actress ("Monk," "Two Guys and a Girl")
- Diablo Cody 1978 - Screenwriter ("Juno")
- Kevin McHale 1988 - Actor ("Glee")
