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Almanac - Thursday 2/18/21

Toni Morrison, by flickr user Kontrast.at

Today is Toni Morrison's birthday...

Today is Thursday, the 18th of February, 2021...

It is the 49th day of the year

316 days remain until the end of the year

30 days until spring begins

The sun rises at 6:54 am 

and the sun sets at 5:54 pm.

We will have 11 hours of daylight today.

The solar transit will be at 12:24 pm.

The first high tide was at 3:36 am 

The first low tide will be at 10:26 am 

The next high tide at 4:58 pm.

and the final low tide at 9:41 pm.

The Moon is 38.4% visible, a Waxing Crescent

We’ll have the First Quarter Moon tomorrow, Friday the 19th of February of 2021 at 10:47 am

Today is…

Cow Milked While Flying in an Airplane Day

1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.

Pluto Day

1930 – While studying photographs taken in JanuaryClyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

National Drink Wine Day

Crab-Stuffed Flounder Day

National Battery Day

Thumb Appreciation Day

Today is…

Dialect Day on the Amami IslandsJapan

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.

Kurdish Students Union Day in Iraqi Kurdistan

National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty in Nepal

Wife's Day, Konudagur, in Iceland

On this day in Black History…

1688 – the First formal protest against slavery by an organized white body in English America organized by the Germantown Quakers at monthly meeting.

1865 - Rebels abandoned Charleston. First Union troops to enter the city included twenty-first U.S.C.T., followed by two companies of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers.

1867- Morehouse Predecessor Founded

The Augusta Institute was founded at Augusta, Georgia which was later to become Morehouse College, following its relocation to Atlanta. Morehouse College is one of the most prestigious black colleges in the nation.

1894 – the founding of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington (1890- ),

Home to the largest African American congregation in the state of Washington,

1896 - Grenon, H. patents the Razor Stropping Device

1903 — First all-black musical opens on Broadway. In Dahomey, a musical comedy and the first full-length musical written, produced and performed by blacks, opened at the New York Theatre and ran for 53 performances. It featured music by Will Marion Cook from the book by Jesse A. Shipp, and lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar.

1957 - Dedan Kimathi executed Kenyan Mau Mau rebel leader, Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.

Independence Day in The Gambia celebrating Independence from Britain in 1965

2006 - Shani Davis ~ (speed skater) becomes the first Black to be awarded with an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics

Black history birthdays today include…

1894 - African American architect Paul Revere Williams, was born on this day He is best known for designing the homes of countless celebrities, includingFrank SinatraLucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and many others. In addition He designed several public and private buildings as well.

1922 - The First Prime Minister of Grenada Eric Gairy

1931 - Toni Morrison (born Chloe Anthony Wofford), who will win the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Beloved, was born on this day in Lorain, Ohio.

1934- Audre Lorde, (1934-1992), born February 18, 1934 in New York City, was an American feminist poet.

1941 (79) - Grammy Award Winning Singer Irma Thomas is born

1965 - Dr. Dre is an American rap singer and producer who is sometimes referred to as the most influential rap producer of all time. Dre was born Andre Romelle Young on February 18, 1965 in Compton, California

Also on this day in history…

1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.

1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.

1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from AllahabadUnited ProvincesBritish India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.

1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.

1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.

1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state's death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.

2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.

...and if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You!  You share this special day with...

1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)

1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)

1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)

1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)

1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)

1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)

1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)

1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)

1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)

1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)

1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)

1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)[9]

1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)[10]

1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)[11]

1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)

1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)

1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).

1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)[15]

1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician[16]

1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)

1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author

1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer

1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)

1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer

1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer

1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1954 – John Travolta, American actor, singer and producer

1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host

1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director

1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor

1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress

1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author

1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author

1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer