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Almanac - Thursday 12/17/20

Maple Syrup It must be Pancake Day! by flickr Nigel Hardy

It's Maple Syrup Day!

Today is Thursday December 17, 2020

It is the 352nd day of the year

14 days remain until the end of the year.

4 days until Winter Solstice at 2:02 in the morning, Monday, the 21st.

The sun rises at 7:20 this morning

The sun sets at 4:53 this afternoon

We will have 9 hours and 33 minutes of daylight today.

Solar noon will be at 12:07 pm.

The first high tide was at 2:20 early this morning

The first low tide of the day is at 6:54 this morning
    
The next high tide will be 12:52 this afternoon
    
and the final low tide at Aquatic Park will be at 7:37 tonight.

The Moon is currently --% visible

A waxing crescent

First Quarter Moon in in 4 days on Monday the 21st of December of 2020 at 3:41 pm    

National Maple Syrup Day

Pan American Aviation Day

Wright Brothers Day

Today is also...

Kurdish flag day

Accession Day in Bahrain

International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

National Day in Bhutan

On this day in history...

    497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome.

    1790 – The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.

    1819 – Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).

    1865 – First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.

    1892 – First issue of Vogue is published.
 
    1943 – All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.

    1967 – Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.

    1969 – Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

    1989 – The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

    2014 – The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

   
And if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday!  You get to share birthday cake with...

    1873 – Ford Madox Ford, English novelist, poet, and critic (d. 1939)

    1874 – William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian economist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1950)

     1894 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (d. 1979)

    1903 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1987)

    1903 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1978)

    1929 – William Safire, American journalist and author (d. 2009)

    1930 – Bob Guccione, American photographer and publisher, founded Penthouse (d. 2010)

    1931 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (d. 2014)

    1935 – Cal Ripken Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1999)

    1936 – Pope Francis

    1937 – Art Neville, American singer and keyboard player (d. 2019)

    1937 – John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (d. 1969)

    1939 – Eddie Kendricks, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1992)

    1942 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1987)

    1946 – Eugene Levy, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter

    1958 – Mike Mills, American bass player, songwriter, and producer

    1987 – Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst