FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually on April 15 in Major League Baseball (MLB), commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Celebrated at MLB ballparks, on that one day, all players, coaches, and managers on both teams, and the umpires, wear Robinson’s uniform number, 42. April 15 was Opening Day in 1947, Robinson’s first season in the major leagues.
Initiated for the first time on April 15, 2004, the festivity is a result of Robinson’s memorable career, best known for becoming the first black major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. His debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers (today’s Los Angeles Dodgers) ended approximately 80 years of baseball segregation, also known as the baseball color line, or color barrier. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Shea Stadium was one of the prominent venues hosting the event, having commemorated the retirement of Robinson’s number 42 jersey in 1997. Bob DuPuy, the president and chief operating officer of Major League Baseball, described Jackie Robinson Day as a significance “not only for baseball, but for our country in general.”
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
What are some ways that people paid taxes in the past?
In biblical times, taxes were paid with herbs such as anise, and in medieval Europe, people used honey to pay their taxes.
Advice of the Day
To keep a cat at home, rub its paws with butter.
Home Hint of the Day
Every finish has a solvent. For liquid (as opposed to dried) varnish, it’s likely to be turpentine; for shellac, denatured alcohol; for lacquer, lacquer thinner.
Word of the Day
Twilight
The interval of time following sunset and preceding sunrise, during which the sky is partially illuminated. The three ranges of twilight are: civil (from sunset/sunrise to when the Sun is 6° below the horizon) nautical (greater than 6° and ending at 12°) astronomical (greater than 12° and ending at 18°—full darkness).
Puzzle of the Day
What is smarter than a hummingbird?
A spelling bee.
Born
- Leonardo da Vinci (artist) – 1452
- Bessie Smith (legendary blues singer) – 1894
- Elizabeth Montgomery (American actress ) – 1933
- Emma Thompson (actress) – 1959
- Emma Watson (actress) – 1990
Died
- Abraham Lincoln (16th U.S. president) – 1865
- Jean-Paul Sartre (writer & philosopher) – 1980
- Greta Garbo (actress) – 1990
- John Curry (figure skater) – 1994
- Byron White (Supreme Court justice) – 2002
Events
- American School for the Deaf founded in Hartford, Connecticut– 1817
- First state entomologist position approved, New York– 1854
- President Lincoln called for 75,000 Union militia volunteers– 1861
- Last day U.S. silver coins allowed to circulate in Canada– 1870
- Canadian thanksgiving day held after Prince of Wales recovered from serious illness– 1872
- General Electric Co. is incorporated– 1892
- R.M.S. Titanic sank in early morning after striking iceberg on April 14th in late evening– 1912
- First Canadian small penny coin released– 1920
- Insulin became available for general use– 1923
- After acquiring franchising rights from the McDonald brothers, Dick and Maurice, Ray Kroc opened his first McDonald’s chain restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois– 1955
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opened, Virginia-Delmarva Peninsula– 1964
- First national lottery drawing in Canada– 1974
Weather
- Tornado in Alabama– 1884
- Boulder, Colorado, received 76 inches of snow in 24 hours– 1921
- Tornadoes strike Arkansas and Texas– 1921
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