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Almanac - Wednesday 10/31/18

Pumpkins, by flickr user Charlie Llewellin

Today is Wednesday, the 31st of October of 2018.  It is the 304th day of the year.

There are 61 days remaining until the end of the year.  51 days until winter begins

6 days until the election!

The sun rose at 7:35 am 

and sun will set at 6:11 pm.

We will have 10 hours and 36 minutes of daylight today.

The solar transit will be at 12:53 pm.

The first high tide will be at 6:46 am

and the next high tide at 5:23 pm.

The only low tide of the day will be at 11:42 am.

A low to medium pollen count today at 3.4 dipping and steadying to 3.6 by the weekend.

The Moon is 52.3% visible; a Waning Gibbous

Moon Direction: 119.22° ESE↑

Moon Altitude: 58.86°

Moon Distance: 230051 mi

Next New Moon: Wednesday November 7, 2018 at 8:01 am

Next Full Moon: Thursday November 22, 2018 at 9:39 pm

Next Moonset: Today at 2:22 pm

Today is…

Books for Treats Day

Carve a Pumpkin Day

Girl Scout Founder's Day

Halloween

National Caramel Apple Day

National Doorbell Day

National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

National Knock Knock Jokes Day

National Magic Day

Reformation Day

Samhain

Scare a Friend Day

Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day

Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Day

World Savings Day

Today is also…

Día de la Canción Criolla in Peru

Hallowe'en and related celebrations:

Allantide in Cornwall

Hop-tu-Naa in Isle of Man

Samhain (Saw-win) in the Northern Hemisphere, Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere; begins on sunset of October 31 celebrated by the GaelsWelsh people and on the Neopagan Wheel of the Year

The first day of the Day of the Dead, celebrated until November 2 in Mexico

Girl Scouts Founders Day in the United States

King Father's Birthday in Cambodia

National Unity Day in India

Reformation Day in Slovenia, parts of GermanyChileEl Salvador, Dominican Republic, various Protestant churches with a particular emphasis in Lutheran and Reformedones

Saci Day in Brazil

If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You!  You share this special day with…

1795 – John Keats, English poet (d. 1821)

1887 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) (d. 1975)

1896 – Ethel Waters, American singer and actress (d. 1977)

1912 – Dale Evans, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2001)

1920 – Dick Francis, Welsh-Caymanian jockey and author (d. 2010)

1920 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (d. 2004)

1922 – Illinois Jacquet, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2004)

1922 – Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 2012)

1931 – Dan Rather, American journalist

1936 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)

1937 – Tom Paxton, American folk music singer-songwriter and guitarist

1939 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)

1941 – Derek Bell, English race car driver

1941 – Sally Kirkland, American actress

1942 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor (d. 2018)

1945 – Brian Doyle-Murray, American actor and comedian

1950 – John Candy, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)

1950 – Jane Pauley, American journalist

1959 – Neal Stephenson, American author

1967 – Vanilla Ice, American rapper, television personality, and real estate investor

…and on this day in history….

1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.

1913 – Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across United States.

1941 – After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.

1956 – Hungarian Revolution of 1956: A Revolutionary Headquarters is established in Hungary. Following Imre Nagy's announcement of October 30, banned non-Communist political parties are reformed, and the MDP is replaced by the MSZMPJózsef Mindszenty is released from prison. The Soviet Politburo makes the decision to crush the Revolution.

1961 – In the Soviet UnionJoseph Stalin's body is removed from the Lenin's Mausoleum, also known as the Lenin Tomb.

1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.

1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and around 3,000 Sikhs are killed.

1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

2000 – Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.

2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraudmoney launderingconspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer..

2011 – The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.