Today in history

Today is the 91st day of 2023 and the 13th day of spring.

Today’s history: In 1826, Samuel Morey received the patent for the first internal combustion engine.

n In 1945, Operation Iceberg began as U.S. troops landed on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

n In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, which required the surgeon general’s warning on tobacco products and banned cigarette ads on radio and TV.

n In 2011, a mob protesting the burning of the Quran attacked the United Nations compound in Mazar-i-sharif, Afghanistan, causing the deaths of 13 people.

Today’s fact: Two monumental innovations in meteorology occurred on April 1: In 1875, Francis Galton published the first newspaper weather map; in 1960, TIROS-1, the first weather satellite, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Today’s sports: In 1985, the eighth-seeded Villanova Wildcats defeated the top-seeded and heavily favored Georgetown Hoyas 66-64 in the NCAA championship game.

Today’s quote: “Dogs are our link to Paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.”

— Milan Kundera, “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”

Today’s number: $2.35 trillion — value of Apple Inc. in March 2023. The company was founded in Cupertino, California, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne on this day in 1976.

Birthdays

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), German political leader; Edmond Rostand (1868-1918), playwright; Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943), composer; Milan Kundera (1929- ), author; Debbie Reynolds (1932-2016), actress; Ali Macgraw (1939- ), actress; Samuel Alito (1950- ), Supreme Court justice; Rachel Maddow (1973- ), TV personality; David Oyelowo (1976- ), actor; Asa Butterfield (1997- ), actor.