Saturday, April 1, 2023

Today is the 91st day of 2023 and the 13th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1826, Samuel Morey received the patent for the first internal combustion engine.

In 1945, Operation Iceberg began as U.S. troops landed on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, which required the surgeon general’s warning on tobacco products and banned cigarette ads on radio and TV.

In 2011, a mob protesting the burning of the Quran attacked the United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, causing the deaths of 13 people.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), German political leader; Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), playwright; Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), composer; Milan Kundera (1929- ), author; Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016), actress; Ali MacGraw (1939- ), actress; Samuel Alito (1950), Supreme Court justice; Rachel Maddow (1973- ), TV personality; David Oyelowo (1976- ), actor; Asa Butterfield (1997- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: Two monumental innovations in meteorology occurred on April 1: In 1875, Francis Galton published the first newspaper weather map; in 1960, TIROS1, the first weather satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1985, the eighth-seeded Villanova Wildcats defeated the topseeded and heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas 66-64 in the NCAA championship game.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Dogs are our link to Paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.” -- Milan Kundera, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”

TODAY’S NUMBER: $2.35 trillion -- value of Apple Inc. in March 2023. The company was founded in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on this day in 1976.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 28) and full moon (April 5).

Sunday, April 2, 2023

Today is the 92nd day of 2023 and the 14th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, establishing the U.S. Mint.

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond, Virginia, as Union forces closed in on the Confederate capital.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany.

In 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings on the British-held Falkland Islands, marking the beginning of the Falklands War.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), writer; Emile Zola (1840-1902), author/ critic; Walter Chrysler (18751940), Chrysler founder; Max Ernst (1891-1976), artist; Buddy Ebsen (1908-2003), actor; Alec Guinness (19142000), actor; Jack Webb (19201982), actor; Marvin Gaye (1939-1984), singer-songwriter; Emmylou Harris (1947- ), singer-songwriter; Christopher Meloni (1961- ), actor; Clark Gregg (1962- ), actor; Michael Fassbender (1977- ), actor; Jesse Plemons (1988- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: Writer Emile Zola is entombed at the Pantheon in Paris, where he shares a crypt with fellow authors Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1931, Jackie Mitchell, a 17-year-old female pitcher, struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition match between the Class AA minor league Chattanooga Lookouts and the New York Yankees.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “I think I’ve got a real love thing going. I love people, I love life and I love nature, and I can’t see why other people can’t be like that. “ -- Marvin Gaye TODAY’S NUMBER: 4,700 -- area (in square miles) of the Falkland Islands, which is slightly less than the state of Connecticut.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 28) and full moon (April 5).

Monday, April 3, 2023

Today is the 93rd day of 2023 and the 15th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1865, Union forces captured Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.

In 1882, American outlaw Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, a member of James’ own gang who hoped to earn a state reward.

In 1948, President Harry Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan aid bill, which was designed to help rebuild war-torn Europe.

In 1996, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski was arrested at his cabin near Lincoln, Montana.

In 2010, Apple Inc. released the first iPad tablet computer.

T ODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Washington Irving (17831859), writer; Doris Day (19222019), singer/actress; Marlon Brando (1924-2004), actor; Gus Grissom (1926-1967), astronaut; Jane Goodall (1934- ), primatologist; Wayne Newton (1942- ), singer; Sandra Boynton (1953- ), humorist/ illustrator; Alec Baldwin (1958- ), actor; David Hyde Pierce (1959- ), actor; Eddie Murphy (1961- ), actor/comedian; Ben Mendelsohn (1969), actor; Adam Scott (1973- ), actor; Cobie Smulders (1982), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: After Marlon Brando returned his script for “On the Waterfront” twice, Frank Sinatra was cast in the lead role. Brando was ultimately convinced to star and went on to win an Oscar for his iconic performance.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1988, Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the NHL’s Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer, ending Wayne Gretzky’s streak of consecutive scoring titles at seven.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Great minds have purpose, others have wishes. Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.” -- Washington Irving TODAY’S NUMBER: 214,488 -- offshore entities (used as tax havens) revealed in the Panama Papers, a massive leak of financial and legal documents first published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on this day in 2016.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (March 28) and full moon (April 5).