Daily Almanac: April 12, 2023

Sunrise/Sunset:

RISE: 7:12 a.m.
SET: 8:24 p.m.

High/Low Temperatures:

HIGH: 78 °F
LOW: 51 °F

Today is…:

• Big Wind Day
• National Bookmobile Day
• Drop Everything and Read Day

What Happened On This Day:

• 1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space. The Soviet Cosmonaut orbited the Earth aboard the Vostok-3KA spacecraft (Vostok 1 mission).
• 1937 The first aircraft jet engine is successfully tested. Sir Frank Whittle invented and tested the engine, only a few months before German engineer Hans von Ohain ran his jet engine.
• 1861 The American Civil War begins. The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina marked the beginning of hostilities.

Births On This Day:

• 1947 Tom Clancy
American author

• 1947 David Letterman
American comedian, talk show host

Deaths On This Day:

• 1981 Joe Louis
American boxer
• 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt
American politician, 32nd President of the United States