Today is Monday, the 5th of August of 2024
August 5 is the 218th day of the year
148 days remain until the end of the year.
48 days until autumn begins
91 (and a fraction) days until Election Day Tuesday November 5
The sun will rise in San Francisco at 6:17:29 am
and sunset will be at 8:12:59 pm.
Today we will have 13 hours and 55 minutes of daylight
The solar transit will be at 1:15:14 pm
Water temperature in San Francisco Bay today is 66°F.
The first low tide was at 6:17 am at -0.41 feet
The first high tide will be at 1:10 pm at 5.11 feet
The next low tide at 6:13 pm at 2.65 feet
And the final high tide at Ocean Beach will be at 11:53 pm at 5.99 feet
We had a new moon over the weekend
The Moon is currently 1.1% visible
It’s now a Waxing Crescent
We’ll have the First Quarter Moon in a week from today Monday 12th of August of 2024 at 8:19 am
Today is….
International Traffic Light Day
Today is also….
Independence Day (Burkina Faso)
Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)
If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share your special day with….
1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1893)
1889 – Conrad Aiken, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet (d. 1973)
1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 2012)
1934 – Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist
1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian-American drummer and composer
1942 – Joe Boyd, American record producer, founded Hannibal Records
1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress
1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1956 – Maureen McCormick, American actress
1968 – Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician
….and on this day in history….
1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it is forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, springs a leak.
1735 – Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.
1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.
1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.
1882 – Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, today known as ExxonMobil, is established officially. The company would later grow to become the holder of all Standard Oil companies and the entity at the center of the breakup of Standard Oil.
1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.
1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
1949 – In Montana, 12 smokejumper firefighters and 1 US Forest Service fire guard are killed in the Mann Gulch Fire.
1957 – American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
1962 – Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
1962 – American actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her home from a drug overdose.
1963 – Cold War: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
1969 – The Lonesome Cowboys police raid occurs in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of the Georgia Gay Liberation Front.
1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the "South Pacific Forum") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.
1974 – Watergate scandal: President Richard Nixon, under orders of the US Supreme Court, releases the "Smoking Gun" tape, recorded on June 23, 1972, clearly revealing his actions in covering up and interfering investigations into the break-in. His political support vanishes completely.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
