Ramadan begins at sundown. The exact timing is subject to the first sighting of the Moon. Beginning at age 12, all Muslims take part in the month-long sunrise-to-sunset fast that is the hallmark of Ramadan. Eating and drinking (including water) is prohibited during daylight hours, and the day’s abstinence is offset by a nightly meal known as iftar. The holiday honors the time when the angel Gabriel revealed the first verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, to a desert-wandering caravan trader named Muhammad. Muslims believe that fasting cleanses the body, and the practice reminds them of the suffering of the poor. Food is often shared with a poor family during Ramadan. At the end of the 30-day fast is Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast), replete with feasting and celebration. Read more about Ramadan.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, March 10, 2024
Born
- Ferdinand V (King of Aragon) –
- Angel de Saavedra (poet, dramatist) –
- Emily Pauline Johnson (Canadian writer, performer) –
- Lillian D. Wald (social worker) –
- Barry Fitzgerald (actor) –
- Bix Beiderbecke (jazz musician) –
- Victor Manuel Blanco (astronomer who helped build the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile) –
- Kenneth Burns (singer) –
- James Earl Ray (convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.) –
- Chuck Norris (actor) –
- David Rabe (playwright) –
- Lance Burton (magician) –
- Prince Edward (youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II) –
- Mike Timlin (baseball player) –
- Jon Hamm (actor) –
- Lyne Bessette (professional bicycle racer) –
- Shannon Miller (gymnast; Olympic gold medalist) –
- Robin Thicke (musician) –
- Carrie Underwood (singer) –
- Emily Osment (actress) –
Died
- Harriet Tubman (American abolitionist) –
- Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald) –
- Konstantin Chernenko (Soviet leader) –
- Lloyd Bridges (actor) –
- Danny Joe Brown (musician) –
- Corey Haim (actor) –
- Richard Wagamese (Ojibwe writer ) –
- Emilio Delgado (actor; played Luis on Sesame Street ) –
Events
- Thomas Jefferson became U.S. minister to France –
- Thomas Jefferson presented a paper on the megalonyx (which was later determined to be an extinct giant ground sloth) –
- U.S. national paper currency first issued –
- The first royal wedding took place at Windsor Castle in St. George’s chapel. Edward, Prince of Wales, married Alexandra, Princess of Denmark –
- Ulysses S. Grant became the Lt. Gen. of Union army in the Civil War –
- Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant saying, Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you. –
- Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven women officers officially began the work of the Salvation Army in the U.S.(Battery Park, N.Y.C.) –
- William Knox bowled first perfect 300 game in competition –
- A 6.4 earthquake killed 120 people and caused $50 million in damages, Long Beach, California –
- Mildred E. Gillars, who made wartime broadcasts for the Nazis under the name Axis Sally, was convicted of treason in Washington— she served 12 years in prison –
- Tennessee Williams’s play, Sweet Bird of Youth, opened on Broadway –
- James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and was sentenced to 99 years in prison –
- U.S. Army Captain Ernest L. Medina was court-martialed on murder charges in connection with the My Lai incident of March 1968 (Vietnam War) –
- Uranus rings discovered –
- The Vatican declared its opposition to test tube fertilization, embryo transfer, and most other forms of scientific interference in procreation –
- A previously healthy 25-year old man from Virginia became the first known fatality in the U.S. linked to raccoon rabies –
Weather
- 5.12 inches of rain fell in Wilmington, North Carolina –
- Thirty-four degrees below zero F at International Falls, Minnesota –
- In Colebrook, New Hampshire, snow was 21.5 feet deep –
