Today is Thursday, the 29th of February of 2024
Happy Intercalation Day! February 29 is a leap day (or "leap year day"),
an intercalary date added periodically to create leap years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.
It is the 60th day of a leap year in both calendars,
and 306 days remain until the end of the leap year.
19 days until spring begins
The sun has just risen at 6:41:24 am
and sunset will be at 6:04:00 pm.
We will have 11 hours and 22 minutes of daylight
That’s two minutes and 23 seconds more daylight than yesterday
The solar transit will be at 12:22:42 pm.
Water temperature in San Francisco Bay today is 55.6°F.
The first high tide was early this morning at 1:07 am at 5.44 feet
The first low tide will be at 7:41 am at 1.09 feet
The next high tide at 1:49 pm at 4.03 feet
and the final low tide at Ocean Beach will be this evening at 7:09 pm at 2.13 feet
The moon sets this morning at 8:59 am
and rises again tonight at 11:15 pm
The Moon is currently 79.1% visible
It’s a Waning Gibbous
We’ll have the Last Quarter Moon in 3 days on Sunday the 3rd of March of 2024 at 7:24 am
Today is….
International Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day
Today is also…Rare Disease Day
Bachelor's Day in Ireland, and the United Kingdom
If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share your special day with these notable people in Black History…
Born on this day, Feb 29, 1932 Reri Grist is an internationally acclaimed lyric and coloratura soprano noted for her “silvery tone, flawless technique and stupendous acting.” She started singing in musical theater, and later became the first African-American singer to join the Zurich Opera.
Feb 29, 1892 The sculptor Augusta Savage , original name Augusta Christine Fells was born February 29, 1892, Green Cove Springs, Florida
Bridgetower, George (1780-1860) – Death Feb 29, 1860 Little is known of his later years, and he died on February 29, 1860 in London. Eighteenth and nineteenth century classical violinist George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower is perhaps now best remembered for his association with Ludwig von Beethoven, who composed his Kreutzer Sonata for the young Afro-European musician, and personally performed the sonata for violin and piano with Bridgetower.
Hattie McDaniel Feb 29, 1940 On this day, Hattie McDaniel known for her supporting roles became the first African American to win the Oscar Award for her role as 'Mammy' in the movie 'Gone With The Wind'. Not only was she the first African American to receive this award, but she was the only woman to have received it until Whoopi Goldberg received the same award for her role in the movie 'Ghost' many years later
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders Feb 29, 1968 National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (the Kerner Commission) said white racism was the fundamental cause of the riots in American cities. The commission said America was "moving toward two societies, one Black, one white, separate and unequal.
1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with 100 other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.
Today’s birthday’s include…
1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian-English dancer (d. 1822)
1736 – Ann Lee, English-American religious leader, founder of the Shakers (d. 1784)
1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
1828 – Emmeline B. Wells, American journalist, poet and activist (d. 1921)
1892 – Augusta Savage, American sculptor (d. 1962)
1896 – Morarji Desai, Indian civil servant and politician, fourth Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer and bandleader (d. 1957)
1908 – Dee Brown, American historian and author (d. 2002)
1908 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (d. 1968)
1916 – James B. Donovan, American lawyer (d. 1970)
1920 – Michèle Morgan, French-American actress and singer (d. 2016)
1928 – Jean Adamson, British writer and illustrator (Topsy and Tim)
1928 – Tempest Storm, born Annie Banks, "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers", American burlesque performer and actress (d. 2021)
1940 – Sonja Barend, Dutch talk show host
1944 – Dennis Farina, American police officer and actor (d. 2013)
1944 – Phyllis Frelich, American actress (d. 2014)
1948 – Hermione Lee, English author, critic and academic
1948 – Patricia A. McKillip, American author (d. 2022)
1952 – Raisa Smetanina, Russian cross-country skier
1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (executed 2002)
1960 – Khaled, Algerian singer-songwriter
1972 – Sylvie Lubamba, Italian showgirl
1976 – Katalin Kovács, Hungarian sprint kayaker
1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television host
1992 – Jessica Long, American paralympic swimmer
1996 – Claudia Williams, New Zealand tennis player
2004 – Lydia Jacoby, American swimmer
Also on this day in history….
888 – Odo, count of Paris, is crowned king of West Francia (France) by Archbishop Walter of Sens at Compiègne.
1712 – February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Julian calendar
1892 – St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.
1908 – James Madison University is founded at Harrisonburg, Virginia in the United States as The State Normal and Industrial School for Women by the Virginia General Assembly.
1916 – In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old.
1940 – In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden's consul general in San Francisco.
1972 – South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam as part of Nixon's Vietnamization policy in the Vietnam War.
1984 – Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada.
1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay.
1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum.
1996 – The Siege of Sarajevo officially ends.
2008 – The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence withdraws Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan after news of his deployment is leaked to foreign media.
2020 – The United States and the Taliban sign the Doha Agreement for bringing peace to Afghanistan.
