© 2025 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Almanac - Tuesday April 18, 2023

* Pinata *
Parée
/
Flickr Creative Commons
* Pinata *

117 years ago this morning

At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time

on Wednesday, April 18, 1906,

the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake

with an estimated magnitude of 7.9

High-intensity shaking was felt from Eureka on the North Coast

to the Salinas Valley, an agricultural region to the south.

Devastating fires soon broke out in San Francisco

and lasted for several days.

More than 3,000 people died,

and over 80% of the city was destroyed.

The event is remembered as the deadliest earthquake in the history of the United States.

The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high on the lists of American disasters.

Today is Tuesday, 18th of April of 2023,

the sun rose this morning at 6:30:12 am

and sunset will be at 7:49:05 pm.

Today we have 13 hours and 18 minutes of daylight

The solar transit will be at 1:09:38 pm.

Water temperature in San Francisco Bay today is 56.5°F.

The first low tide was at 4:15 am at 0.39 feet

The first high tide will be at 10:19 am at 5.19 feet

and the next low tide will be at 4:14 pm at 0.37 feet

and the final high tide at Ocean Beach tonight will be at 10:38 pm at 5.96 feet

The Moon is currently 3.4% visible

It’s still a Waning Crescent moon

We’ll have a New Moon tomorrow Wednesday the 19th of April of 2023 at 9:12 pm

We’ll also have a Hybrid Solar Eclipse

Today is…

Adult Autism Awareness Day

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Income Tax Pay Day

National Animal Crackers Day

National Lineman Appreciation Day

National Transfer Money to Your Daughter's Account Day

National Velociraptor Awareness Day

Newspaper Columnists' Day

Pet Owners Independence Day

Piñata Day

Today is also…

Army Day in Iran

Coma Patients' Day in Poland

Friend's Day in Brazil

Independence Day in Zimbabwe

International Day For Monuments and Sites

Invention Day in Japan

Victory over the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice in Russia on the Julian Calendar

(and CQ CQW CQ DE KALW!)

World Amateur Radio Day

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

1857Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)

1882 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (d. 1977)

1904Pigmeat Markham, African-American comedian, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)

1924Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)

1942 – Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic

1944Kathy Acker, American author and poet (d. 1997)

1947 – James Woods, American actor and producer

1953Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter

1959Susan Faludi, American journalist, author and feminist

1962Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist and comedian

1963 – Conan O'Brien, American television host, comedian, and podcaster

1984America Ferrera, American actress

…and on this day in history…

1906 – An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.

1909Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.

1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced that "there is no news" in their evening report.

1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into force, declaring Éire to be a republic and severing Ireland's "association" with the Commonwealth of Nations.

2018King M-swati III of Swaziland announces that his country's name will change to Es-wa-tini.

2019 – A redacted version of the Mueller report is released to the United States Congress and the public.

Kevin Vance created a program of folk music for KALW, A Patchwork Quilt, in October 1991. He grew up in Berkeley during the 1960s and '70s and spent his years learning in public schools, community colleges, bookstores, libraries, and non-commercial radio stations, as well as from the people around him. When he's not on the radio, then he's selling books, taking care of his family, listening to music, entering stuff into a computer, or taking a class.