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?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will partly cloudy with a high of forty-six.  Sunrise is 6:17 AM and sunset 7:33 PM, for 13h 16m 26s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing crescent with 21.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets tonight at 6:30 PM, and there is a Zoning Code Update Meeting at 8 PM.

On this day in 1814, Napoleon is exiled to Elba, the first of two places of exile for the French autocrat:

…Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba….

In 1812, thinking that Russia was plotting an alliance with England, Napoleon launched an invasion against the Russians that eventually ended with his troops retreating from Moscow and much of Europe uniting against him. In 1814, Napoleon’s broken forces gave up and Napoleon offered to step down in favor of his son. When this offer was rejected, he abdicated and was sent to Elba.

In March 1815, he escaped his island exile and returned to Paris, where he regained supporters and reclaimed his emperor title, Napoleon I, in a period known as the Hundred Days. However, in June 1815, he was defeated at the bloody Battle of Waterloo. Napoleon’s defeat ultimately signaled the end of France’s domination of Europe. He abdicated for a second time and was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena, in the southern Atlantic Ocean, where he lived out the rest of his days. He died at age 52 on May 5, 1821, possibly from stomach cancer, although some theories contend he was poisoned.

On 4.11.1965, Palm Sunday, devastating tornadoes:

1965 – Palm Sunday Tornadoes Ravage Midwest

On this date six tornadoes, part of the “Palm Sunday” outbreak, ripped across Southern Wisconsin, causing 3 deaths and 65 injuries. The outbreak of 51 tornadoes was responsible for 260 deaths and over $200 million in damages throughout the states of Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. [Source: National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office]

A Google a Day asks a question about language:

What is the largest surviving Latin American language reaching from Columbia to Chile?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be rainy with a high of fifty-one. Sunrise is 6:18 AM and sunset 7:32 PM, for 13h 13m 37s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 13.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked whether a video of an object in the Thames was of a sea monster, an ordinary animal, or a man-made object. Respondents were divided between a man-made object (36.73%), a sea monster (34.69%), and an ordinary animal (28.57%).

Today is the anniversary of the ASPCA‘s founding:

…the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54.

In 1863, Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. It was there that he was horrified to witness work horses beaten by their peasant drivers. En route back to America, a June 1865 visit to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in London awakened his determination to secure a charter not only to incorporate the ASPCA but to exercise the power to arrest and prosecute violators of the law.

Back in New York, Bergh pleaded on behalf of “these mute servants of mankind” at a February 8, 1866, meeting at Clinton Hall. He argued that protecting animals was an issue that crossed party lines and class boundaries. “This is a matter purely of conscience; it has no perplexing side issues,” he said. “It is a moral question in all its aspects.” The speech prompted a number of dignitaries to sign his “Declaration of the Rights of Animals.”
Bergh’s impassioned accounts of the horrors inflicted on animals convinced the New York State legislature to pass the charter incorporating the ASPCA on April 10, 1866. Nine days later, the first effective anti-cruelty law in the United States was passed, allowing the ASPCA to investigate complaints of animal cruelty and to make arrests….