Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in town will be warm and sunny, with a high of seventy-six.  Sunrise is 6:09 AM and sunset 7:39 PM, for 13h 30m 20s of daytime.   The moon is a waning gibbous with 72.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1972, Apollo 16 departs for the moon:

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Apollo 16, the fifth of six U.S. lunar landing missions, is successfully launched on its 238,000-mile journey to the moon. On April 20, astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke descended to the lunar surface from Apollo 16, which remained in orbit around the moon with a third astronaut, Thomas K. Mattingly, in command. Young and Duke remained on the moon for nearly three days, and spent more than 20 hours exploring the surface of Earth’s only satellite. The two astronauts used the Lunar Rover vehicle to collect more than 200 pounds of rock before returning to Apollo 16 on April 23. Four days later, the three astronauts returned to Earth, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

On this day in 1947, a new term enters circulation:

Multimillionaire and financier Bernard Baruch, in a speech given during the unveiling of his portrait in the South Carolina House of Representatives, coins the term “Cold War” to describe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The phrase stuck, and for over 40 years it was a mainstay in the language of American diplomacy.

Baruch had served as an advisor to presidents on economic and foreign policy issues since the days of Woodrow Wilson. In 1919, he was one of the U.S. advisers at the Paris Peace Conference that ended World War I. During the 1930s, he frequently advised Franklin D. Roosevelt and members of Congress on international finance and issues of neutrality. After World War II, he remained a trusted adviser to the new administration of Harry S. Truman. His speech in April 1947, however, was given in a completely different context. A portrait of the native South Carolinian was to be hung in the state’s House of Representatives, and Baruch was invited for its unveiling.

Most guests expected that he would give a brief talk, but Baruch instead launched into a scorching attack on the industrial labor problems in the country. It was only through “unity” between labor and management, he declared, that the United States could hope to play its role as the major force by which “the world can renew itself physically or spiritually.” He called for longer workweeks, no-strike pledges from unions, and no-layoff pledges from management. It was imperative that American business and industry pull itself together, Baruch warned. “Let us not be deceived-we are today in the midst of a cold war. Our enemies are to be found abroad and at home. Let us never forget this: Our unrest is the heart of their success. The peace of the world is the hope and the goal of our political system; it is the despair and defeat of those who stand against us. We can depend only on ourselves.”

On this day in 1944, a capital ship enters service:

1944 – USS Wisconsin Commissioned
On this date the USS Wisconsin battleship was put into active duty for service during World War II. The ship, decommissioned in 1948, was recommissioned in 1951 for service in the Korean War. [Source: United States Navy]

Good morning, Whitewater.

The work week ends with sunny skies and a high of sixty-seven.  Sunrise is 6:10 AM and sunset 7:38 AM, for 13h 27m 35s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 63% of its visible disk illuminated.

On 4.15.1783, peace with Great Britain draws closer:

On this day in 1783, the Continental Congress of the United States officially ratifies the preliminary peace treaty with Great Britain that was signed in November 1782. The congressional move brings the nascent nation one step closer to the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.

Five months later, on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed by representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and France, officially bringing an end to the Revolutionary War. It also formalized Great Britain’s recognition of America’s independence.

The treaty established the Mississippi River as the western boundary of the new United States; allowed U.S. fishermen to troll the waters off Newfoundland, Canada; recognized the legitimacy of pre-war debts owed by Americans and Britons; and promised to reunite American Loyalists with property seized from them during the war. The American and Britons were satisfied with the agreement. However, western Indians who had allied themselves to Britain discovered that their land had been handed over by the British to the Americans without consultation or compensation. As they had neither lost their battles nor negotiated a treaty with the Americans, they continued to fight until 1795. Spain assisted southern Indians as they fought to protect their land from encroaching Georgians.

North of the Ohio Valley, the British maintained their forts at Niagara and Detroit, despite their promise to withdraw in the Treaty of Paris. They argued that Americans had breached the treaty by failing to return Loyalist property and pay British creditors as promised. American willingness to trade with revolutionary France further angered the British, and increased their promises of British aid to aggrieved Indians. The British only retreated from the Northwest Territory following the negotiation of the controversial Jay treat with Britain, which was ratified in 1795.

On this day in 1987, it’s a no-hitter for the Brewers:

1987 – Brewer’s First No-Hitter Game

On this date Juan Nieves recorded the Brewers first no-hitter, making him the first Puerto Rican-born pitcher to accomplish this feat in the Major Leauge. [Source: Milwaukee Brewers Timeline]

A Google a Day asks a question about an animal:

As a testament to its adaptability in urban areas, what kind of animal strolled into a popular sandwich shop in the Chicago Loop area in the spring of 2007?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in town will be sunny with a high of sixty-two. Sunrise is 6:12 AM and sunset 7:37 PM, for 13h 24m 48s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 53.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1865, Pres. Lincoln is shot:

1865 – (Civil War) Lincoln Assassinated
On the evening of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Although no Wisconsin troops were on hand, former Wisconsin governor Leonard Farwell was in the theater and rushed to warn Vice President Andrew Johnson of an impending attack.

On 4.14.1953, the Braves begin playing in Milwaukee:

1953 – Milwaukee Braves Debut
On this date the Milwaukee Braves made their official debut in Milwaukee, at the newly constructed County Stadium. They defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2, in 10 innings. Bill Bruton hit the game-winning home run. [Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online]

A Google a Day asks about a novel and a historical event:

What Tom Wolfe novel is named after a 1497 ritual that Savonarola led involving mirrors?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday in town will be cloudy with a high of fifty-four. Sunrise is 6:13 AM and sunset 7:36 PM, for 13h 22m 02s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 42.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks & Recreation Board meets tonight at 7 PM.

On this day in 1743, Thomas Jefferson is born:

The third of ten children, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 OS) at the family home, in a one and a half story farmhouse in Shadwell, not far from Richmond and the Virginia wilderness. According to his autobiography, Jefferson’s earliest memory was being handed to a slave on horseback and carried 50 miles away to their new home which overlooked the Rivanna River, Goochland County, Virginia, now part of Albemarle County. Much of his correspondence to relatives makes mention of this memory. His father was Peter Jefferson, a planter and surveyor who died when Jefferson was fourteen, never getting the chance to measure up to him as an adult. Jefferson’s facial appearance resembled that of his father, but his slim physical form resembled that of his mother’s family.^[2] He was of English and possible Welsh descent, although this remains unclear.^[3] His mother was Jane Randolph, daughter of Isham Randolph, a ship’s captain and sometime planter. Peter and Jane married in 1739.^[4] Thomas Jefferson showed little interest in learning about his ancestry; on his father’s side he only knew of the existence of his grandfather.^[2][3][5][b]

Before the widower William Randolph, an old friend of Peter Jefferson, died in 1745, he appointed Peter as guardian to manage his Tuckahoe Plantation and care for his four children. That year the Jeffersons relocated to Tuckahoe, where they lived for the next seven years before returning to Shadwell in 1752. Peter Jefferson died in 1757 and the Jefferson estate was divided between Peter’s two sons, Thomas and Randolph.^[6] Thomas inherited approximately 5,000 acres (2,000 ha; 7.8 sq mi) of land, including Monticello, and between 20 and 40 slaves. He took control of the property after he came of age at 21. The precise amount of land and number of slaves that Jefferson inherited is estimated.^[7]

A Google a Day asks about weather:

What region of the U.S. was the focus of ice-breaking operations by the U.S. Coastguard in 2011?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be sunny with a high of forty-nine. Sunrise is 6:15 AM and sunset 7:34 PM, for 13h 19m 14s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 32% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1861, the Civil War begins:

The bloodiest four years in American history begin when Confederate shore batteries under General P.G.T. Beauregard open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter inSouth Carolina‘s Charleston Bay. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. On April 13, U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. Two days later, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to quell the Southern “insurrection.”

A Google A Day asks a question about a race:

In the late 1800’s ladies were given a red rose at a fashionable Louisville Derby party, resulting in the flower’s adoption as part of what race’s official logo?