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UPI Almanac for Wednesday, April 1, 2015

U.S. forces land on Okinawa, Canada creates a new territory, Aung San Suu Kyi wins seat in Parliament ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ships sail in formation Dec. 10, 2010, during a joint military exercise east of Okinawa, where forces of the two countries fought one of the major battles of the Pacific in World War II. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI
1 of 8 | U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force ships sail in formation Dec. 10, 2010, during a joint military exercise east of Okinawa, where forces of the two countries fought one of the major battles of the Pacific in World War II. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2015 with 274 to follow.

This is known as April Fools' Day.

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The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include German military theorist Prince Otto von Bismarck in 1815; Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni in 1866; Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1873; actor Lon Chaney Sr. in 1883; actor Wallace Beery in 1885; actor Toshiro Mifune in 1920; author William Manchester ("Death of a President") in 1922; author Anne McCaffrey (Dragonriders of Pern) in 1926; actor/singer Jane Powell in 1929 (age 86); football Hall of Fame Coach Bo Schembechler in 1929; actor/singer Debbie Reynolds in 1932 (age 83); actor Ali MacGraw in 1939 (age 76); Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai in 1940; musician Jimmy Cliff in 1948 (age 67); actor Annette O'Toole in 1952 (age 63); singer Susan Boyle in 1961 (age 54); political commentator Rachel Maddow in 1973 (age 42); reality television personality Jon Gosselin in 1977 (age 38); actor Asa Butterfield in 1997 (age 18).

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On this date in history:

In 1826, Samuel Morey was granted a patent on the internal combustion engine.

In 1918, toward the end of World War I, the British founded the Royal Air Force. (Two months later it began bombing industrial targets in Germany from bases in France.)

In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sent to prison for five years after failing to take over Germany by force in the unsuccessful "Beer Hall Putsch."

In 1945, U.S. forces swarmed ashore on the Japanese island of Okinawa to begin what would be one of the longest battles of World War II.

In 1946, a tsunami created by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake near the Aleutian Islands killed 159 people in the Hawaiian Islands.

In 1970, U.S. President Richard Nixon signed legislation calling for mandatory health warnings on tobacco product packaging and banning cigarette ads on TV and radio, effective Jan. 1, 1971.

In 1976, Apple Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

1979, Iran declared itself an Islamic Republic.

In 1982, the United States transferred control of the Panama Canal Zone to the government of Panama.

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In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced a $24 billion aid package for the former Soviet republics.

In 1996, an outbreak of "mad cow" disease forced Britain to plan the mass slaughter of cows.

In 1999, Canada created a new territory, Nunavut, as a means of providing autonomy for the Inuit people.

In 2003, U.S. Marines rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, who had been held prisoner in Iraq since an ambush on March 23.

In 2009, Sweden became the fifth European nation to legalize same-sex marriages, joining Norway, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

In 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace laureate and voice of the political opposition in Myanmar, won a seat in Parliament less tha two years after being freed from nearly two decades of house arrest.

In 2014, a day after undergoing back surgery, world No. 1 Tiger Woods announced he would miss the Masters, a tournament he had won four times, for the first time in his career.


A thought for the day: "The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear." -- Aung San Suu Kyi

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