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The almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Tuesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2014 with 274 to follow.

This is known as April Fools' Day.

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


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; actors Lon Chaney Sr. in 1883, Wallace Beery in 1885 and Toshiro Mifune in 1920; authors William Manchester ("Death of a President") in 1922 and Anne McCaffrey (Dragonriders of Pern) in 1926; football Hall of Fame coach Bo Schembechler in 1929; actors/singers Jane Powell in 1929 (age 85) and Debbie Reynolds in 1932 (age 82); and actors Ali MacGraw in 1939 (age 75) and Annette O'Toole in 1952 (age 62); Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai in 1940; musician Jimmy Cliff in 1948 (age 66); singer Susan Boyle in 1961 (age 53); political commentator Rachel Maddow in 1973 (age 41); reality television personality Jon Gosselin in 1977 (age 37); and actor Asa Butterfield in 1997 (age 17).

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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 and two months later 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 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.

In 1979, Iran declared itself an Islamic Republic.

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

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

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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 two years after being freed from 20 years of house arrest.

In 2013, prosecutors said they'd seek the death penalty for James Holmes, accused of killing 12 people in a Colorado movie theater.


A thought for the day: "Only good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don't have time." -- Tallulah Bankhead

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