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Almanac - Wednesday 8/15/18

Yosakoi Festival, taken by flickr user Kumar nav

Today Wednesday, 15th of August of 2018 is the 228th day of the year

There are 138 days remaining until the end of the year; 38 days until autumn begins

83 days until Mid-Term Elections Tuesday November 6, 2018 ...

(2 months and 22 days from today)

811 days until Presidential Elections Tuesday November 3, 2020

(2 years 2 months and 19 days from today)

The sun rises at 6:26 am 

and sunset will be at 8:01 pm.

We will have 13 hours and 35 minutes of daylight.

The solar transit will be at 1:13 pm.

The first high tide was at 2:53 am

and the next high tide at 3:49 pm.

The first low tide will be at 8:57 am 

and the next low tide at 9:46 pm.

A low-to-medium pollen count of 3.9 for today and tomorrow

shooting up to a medium count of 6.2 by Sunday

The Moon is 22.0% visible; a Waxing Crescent

Moon Direction:↑ 10.53° N

Moon Altitude:-54.86°

Moon Distance: 233664 mi

Next Full Moon: Sunday August 26, 2018 at 4:56 am

Next New Moon:Sunday September 9, 2018 at 11:01 am

Next Moonrise:Today at 11:13 am

Today is…

15 August or 15 Août is the name of a French film made in 2001

August 15th is also a Sundance Film Festival short film made on 2008

August 15 is also the name ofa Malayalam film made on 2011

Assumption of Mary

I Love Cowboys and Cowgirls Day

National Best Friends Day

National Failures Day

National Leathercraft Day

National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

National Medical Dosimetrist Day

National Relaxation Day

Nicolas Chauvin Day

Today is also…

Armed Forces Day in Poland

Constitution Day in Equatorial Guinea

Founding of Asunción in Paraguay

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Korea from Japan in 1945:

Gwangbokjeol, "Independence Day" (South Korea)

Jogukhaebangui nal, "Fatherland Liberation Day" (North Korea)

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of India from the United Kingdom in 1947.

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Republic of the Congo from France in 1960.

National Day in Liechtenstein

National Mourning Day, observed on Srabon 31 in Bangladesh

The first day of Flooding of the Nile, or Wafaa El-Nil observed in Egypt and in the Coptic Church

The main day of Bon Festival in Japan, and its related observances:

including the Awa Dance Festival in Tokushima Prefecture

“Vee-Jay” or Victory over Japan Day (United Kingdom), and its related observances:

End-of-war Memorial Day, when the National Memorial Service for War Dead is held (Japan)

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

1769 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (d. 1821)

1771 – Walter Scott, Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet (d. 1832)

1872 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru, poet, and philosopher (d. 1950)

1875 – Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, English pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 1912)

1879 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (d. 1959)

1912 – Julia Child, American chef and author (d. 2004)

1917 – Jack Lynch, Irish footballer and politician, 5th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1999)

1917 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (d. 1980)

1923 – Rose Marie, American actress and singer (d. 2017)

1924 – Phyllis Schlafly, American lawyer, writer, and political activist (d. 2016)

1925 – Rose Maddox, American singer-songwriter and fiddle player (d. 1998)

1925 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2007)

1933 – Mike Seeger, American folk musician and folklorist (d. 2009)

1934 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2007)

1938 – Maxine Waters, American educator and politician

1946 – Jimmy Webb, American singer-songwriter and pianist

1950 – Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom

1954 – Stieg Larsson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2004)

1964 – Melinda Gates, American businesswoman and philanthropist, co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

1972 – Ben Affleck, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1990 – Jennifer Lawrence, American actress

…and on this day in history…

747 – Carloman, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, renounces his position as majordomo and retires to a monastery near Rome. His brother Pepin the Short becomes the sole ruler (de facto) of the Frankish Kingdom.

1057 – King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.

1519 – Panama City, Panama is founded.

1534 – Ignatius of Loyola and six classmates take initial vows, leading to the creation of the Society of Jesus in September 1540.

1537 – Asunción, Paraguay is founded.

1540 – Arequipa, Peru is founded.

1843 – Tivoli Gardens, one of the oldest still intact amusement parks in the world, opens in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1907 – Ordination in Constantinople of Fr. Raphael Morgan, the first African-American Orthodox priest, "Priest-Apostolic" to America and the West Indies.

1914 – The Panama Canal opens to traffic with the transit of the cargo ship SS Ancon.

1915 – A story in New York World newspaper reveals that the Imperial German government had purchased excess phenol from Thomas Edison that could be used to make explosives for the war effort and diverted itto Bayer for aspirin production.

1935 – Will Rogers and Wiley Post are killed after their aircraft develops engine problems during takeoff in Barrow, Alaska.

1939 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California.

1947 – India gains Independence from British rule after near 190 years of Crown rule and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.

1965 – The Beatles play to nearly 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City, an event later regarded as the birth of stadium rock.

1969 – The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in upstate New York, featuring some of the top rock musicians of the era.

1970 – Patricia Palinkas becomes the first woman to play professionally in an American football game.

1977 – The Big Ear, a radio telescope operated by Ohio State University as part of the SETI project, receives a radio signal from deep space; the event is named the "Wow! signal" from the notation made by a volunteer on the project.

2013 – The Smithsonian announces the discovery of the olinguito, the first new carnivorous species found in the Americas in 35 years.

2015 – North Korea moves its clock back half an hour to introduce Pyongyang Time, 8½ hours ahead of UTC.