The Almanac -- weekly

Today is Monday, Oct. 13, the 287th day of 2008 with 79 to follow.

This is Columbus Day in the United States.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include American Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher in 1754; actress Lillie Langtry in 1853; actor Cornel Wilde in 1915; puppeteer Burr Tillstrom in 1917; actor/singer Yves Montand in 1921; former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1925 (age 83); comedian Lenny Bruce also in 1925; Jesse L. Brown, the first black American naval aviator, in 1926; actress Melinda Dillon in 1939 (age 69); singer/songwriter Paul Simon in 1941 (age 67); rocker Sammy Hagar in 1947 (age 61); Chris Carter, creator of "The X-Files," in 1956 (age 52); entertainer Marie Osmond in 1959 (age 49); actress Kelly Preston in 1962 (age 46); and figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1969 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 54 AD, the Roman Emperor Claudius was poisoned by his fourth wife, Agrippina.

In 1775, the Continental Congress ordered construction of America's first naval fleet.

In 1792, the cornerstone to the White House was laid. It would be November 1800 before the first presidential family (that of John Adams) moved in.

In 1903, the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first World Series, five games to three.

In 1943, conquered by the Allies, Italy declared war on Germany, its former partner.

In 1972, more than 170 people were killed when a Soviet airliner crashed near the Moscow airport.

In 1977, four Palestinians hijacked a Lufthansa airliner in an unsuccessful attempt to force release of 11 imprisoned members of German terrorists called the Red Army Faction.

In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- the first winner from Central America.

In 1990, Lebanese Christian military leader Michel Aoun ended his two-year mutiny, ordered his forces to surrender, and sought refuge in the French Embassy in Beirut after Syrian-backed Lebanese government troops attacked his headquarters.

In 1991, the Group of Seven industrialized democracies agreed to formulate a Soviet economic reform program with Moscow.

In 1992, the first pig liver transplant patient died in a Los Angeles hospital 30 hours after surgery and just hours before she was to get a human organ.

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council voted to reinstate an oil and arms embargo against Haiti after its military leaders refused to step down as promised.

In 1994, two months after the Irish Republican Army announced a cease-fire. Protestant paramilitaries in Northern Ireland did the same.

In 1999, the U.S. Senate rejected a treaty signed by the United States that banned all underground nuclear testing. Despite that, U.S. President Bill Clinton pledged to abide by the treaty's provisions.

In 2003 sports, jockey Bill Shoemaker, one of horse racing's most renowned figures who won nearly 9,000 races, died at his home in San Marino, Calif. He was 72.

In 2004, investigators reported unearthing a mass grave in northern Iraq containing hundreds of bodies of women and children believed killed in the 1980s.

In 2005, about 128 people were killed in clashes between Islamic militants and law enforcement officers in the southern Russian town of Nalchik.

In 2006, Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus, dubbed the "banker to the poor," won the Nobel Peace Prize for grassroots efforts to lift millions out of poverty.

Also in 2006, U.S. Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, the only congressman charged in the Washington lobbying scandal, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a deal calling for a 27-month prison sentence.

In 2007, Russia said it favors multi-national negotiations over unilateral sanctions against Iran in their nuclear dispute. The United States wants tougher penalties in an effort to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program.

A thought for the day: French playwright Pierre Corneille said, "To win without risk is to triumph without glory." Today is Tuesday, Oct. 14, the 288th day of 2008 with 78 to follow.

The moon is full. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, in 1644; Irish political leader Eamon de Valera in 1882; Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II military leader and 34th president of the United States, in 1890; poet e.e. cummings in 1894; actress Lillian Gish in 1893; singer Allan Jones in 1907; former basketball Coach John Wooden in 1910 (age 98); former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop in 1916 (age 92); actor Roger Moore in 1927 (age 81); Watergate figure John Dean in 1938 (age 70); designer Ralph Lauren in 1939 (age 69); British pop singer Cliff Richard in 1940 (age 68); and actors Harry Anderson in 1952 (age 56) and Greg Evigan in 1953 (age 55).

On this date in history:

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, led his invading army to victory over England's King Harold at Hastings.

In 1912, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee. He refused to have the wound treated until he finished his speech.

In 1944, British and Greek troops liberated Athens, ending three years of World War II occupation by German troops.

In 1947, Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, 24, flying a Bell X-1, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1977, Bing Crosby, one of the most popular singers of his day and winner of the best actor Academy Award for his role in "Going My Way," died of a heart attack while playing golf in Madrid. He was 74.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland A's, 4 games to 2, to win the American League pennant and become the first Canadian team to go to the World Series.

In 1993, gunmen killed Haitian Justice Minister Guy Malary, who'd been appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in an apparent attempt to scuttle the agreement to return Aristide to power.

In 1994, the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian extremists ended with the soldier and four others being killed in a shootout. The same day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

In 1996, the Dow cracked 6,000, closing at a record 6,010.

In 2000, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Egypt to seek a truce and possibly a way back to the peace table.

In 2005, the U.S. Commerce Department announced the consumer index leaped 1.2 percent in September, biggest increase since 1980.

Also in 2005, on the eve of the Iraqi constitutional referendum, insurgents focused attacks on Iraq's largest Sunni Party and disrupted much of Baghdad's electrical services with an attack on the city's main power line.

In 2006, the U.N. Security Council unanimously agreed to impose sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test.

In 2007, two new misconduct inquiries were ordered into the political past of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Also in 2007, rock slides killed at least 21 people in Colombia after rumors of gold sent them digging in a mine southwest of Bogota. Ten others were reported missing.

A thought for the day: American author Margaret Sangster said, "Creative genius is a divinely bestowed gift which is the coronation of the few." Today is Wednesday, Oct. 15, the 289th day of 2008 with 77 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Roman poet Virgil in 70 B.C.; German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in 1844; boxing champion John L. Sullivan in 1858; English writer and humorist P.G. Wodehouse in 1881; film producer Mervyn LeRoy, in 1900; picture archivist Otto Bettmann in 1903; writer and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in 1917; author Mario Puzo ("The Godfather") in 1920; former Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca in 1924 (age 84); actress Linda Lavin in 1937 (age 71); actress/director Penny Marshall in 1942 (age 66); Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer in 1945 (age 63); pop singers Richard Carpenter in 1946 (age 62) and Tito Jackson in 1953 (age 55); and Sarah, Duchess of York, in 1959 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1917, the most famous spy of World War I, Gertrude Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, was executed by a firing squad outside Paris.

In 1946, Nazi Reichsmarshal Herman Goering, sentenced to death as a war criminal, committed suicide in his prison cell on the eve of his scheduled execution.

In 1951, "I Love Lucy," TV's first long-running sitcom and still seen regularly in syndication, made its debut.

In 1964, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was ousted and replaced by Alexei Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev.

In 1984, astronomers in Pasadena, Calif., displayed the first photographic evidence of another solar system 293 trillion miles from Earth.

In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1991, the Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48, the closest confirmation vote in court history.

In 1992, a man who terrorized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don for more than a decade with a series of more than 50 grisly killings was sentenced to death.

In 1993, South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also in 1993, the Pentagon censured three U.S. Navy admirals who organized the Tailhook Association convention in 1991 during which scores of women had been subjected to abuse and indignities by junior officers.

And in 1993, Russia's ousted vice president, Alekandr Rutskoi, and the speaker of the parliament, Ruslan Khasbulatov, were charged with ordering mass disorders in the bloody street fighting between supporters and opponents of President Boris Yeltsin that left almost 200 people dead.

In 1994, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti three years after being driven into exile by a military coup.

In 1999, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the international group Doctors Without Borders.

In 2001, a package containing a substance believed to be anthrax was opened in the personal office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

In 2002, the Washington-area sniper claimed his ninth fatality, a female FBI analyst, as the massive manhunt continued.

Also in 2002, former ImClone Chief Executive Officer Samuel Waksal pleaded guilty to insider trading as part of an ongoing investigation into the trading of shares from his biotech company, which also involved home decor diva and Waksal friend Martha Stewart.

In 2003, 10 people were killed and dozens injured when a New York ferry, transporting passengers from Manhattan, slammed into a pier on Staten Island.

Also in 2003, China became the third nation to launch a man into space. He landed safely the next day after orbiting the Earth 14 times.

In 2004, the United Nations said it was getting reports of attacks against internally displaced people in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region where tens of thousands had been killed and 1.6 million others displaced.

In 2005, millions of Iraqis went to the polls to vote on a new constitution. There were incidents of violence but they were not widespread.

In 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao, in his inaugural address to the 17th party Congress, said his nation needed to improve institutions of democracy.

A thought for the day: Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself but talent instantly recognizes genius." Today is Thursday, Oct. 16, the 290th day of 2008 with 76 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include lexicographer Noah Webster in 1758; Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde in 1854; David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, in 1886; playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1888; Irish revolutionist Michael Collins in 1890; Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas in 1898; German novelist Gunter Grass in 1927 (age 81); actor Barry Corbin in 1940 (age 68); actresses Linda Darnell in 1923; Angela Lansbury in 1925 (age 83) and Suzanne Somers in 1946 (age 62); Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir in 1947 (age 61); actor Tim Robbins in 1958 (age 50); and actress Kellie Martin in 1975 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1701, Yale University was founded.

In 1793, French Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded.

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Va. He was convicted of treason and hanged.

In 1868, America's first department store, ZCMI, opened in Salt Lake City.

In 1916, the nation's first birth control clinic was opened in New York by Margaret Sanger and two other women.

In 1946, at Nuremberg, Germany, 10 high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging for World War II war crimes. Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force, was to have been among them but he committed suicide in his cell the night before.

In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 1972, a light plane carrying House Democratic leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana and three other men was reported missing in Alaska. The plane was never found.

In 1984, black Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against apartheid.

In 1991, George Hennard reportedly shot and killed 22 people and then took his own life after driving his pickup truck through the front window of Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.

In 1998, Protestant David Trimble and Roman Catholic John Hume, both political leaders in Northern Ireland, were named as co-winners of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward bringing peace to Ulster.

In 2002, U.S. President George Bush signed into law the joint congressional resolution authorizing him to use military force if necessary to rid Iraq of its suspected weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq.

In 2004, the World Health Organization said smoke from home stoves and fires in developing countries had become a major cause of death and disease.

Also in 2004, in a letter to fans on her Web site, homemaking guru Martha Stewart assured all she was adjusting to life in a West Virginia federal prison which she described as "like an old-fashioned college campus -- without the freedom, of course."

In 2005, Louisiana state officials were investigating the possibility of euthanasia in 215 deaths at 19 New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed an underground explosion in North Korea a week before was the test of a nuclear device. The explosive yield was reported less than 1 kiloton of conventional explosives.

In 2007, Iraqi officials said their investigation of the killing of Iraqi citizens by Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the U.S. State Department indicates the shootings were unprovoked.

A thought for the day: Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde's dying words were said to have been, "This wallpaper is killing me; one of us has got to go." Today is Friday, Oct. 17, the 291st day of 2008 with 75 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include Jupiter Hammon, America's first published black poet, in 1711; actress Irene Ryan in 1902; big band trombonist and wide-eyed comic Jerry Colonna, best remembered as a featured comedian on Bob Hope shows, in 1905; playwright Arthur Miller in 1915; actress Rita Hayworth in 1918; actor Tom Poston in 1921; actor Montgomery Clift in 1920; newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin in 1930 (age 78); daredevil Robert "Evel" Knievel in 1938; actors Michael McKean in 1947 (age 61) and Margot Kidder and George Wendt, both in 1948 (age 60); former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, in 1956 (age 52); and rapper Eminem in 1972 (age 36).

On this date in history:

In 1777, at one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American Gen. Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y.

In 1945, Juan Peron became dictator of Argentina. He remained in power for 11 years before being overthrown.

In 1973, the Arab-dominated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. A full oil embargo hit the United States in December causing a serious energy crisis.

In 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Roman Catholic nun who cared for the sick and poor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1986, Congress passed a landmark immigration bill, the first U.S. law authorizing penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens.

In 1989, the most powerful California earthquake since the legendary temblor of 1906 struck the San Francisco Bay Area at evening rush hour, just before the scheduled start of Game Three of the World Series in San Francisco between the Giants and the Oakland A's. At least 67 people were killed.

In 1990, U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said military force would be a legitimate response to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait if sanctions did not work.

In 1994, North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear weapons program and allow international inspections of its facilities.

In 1996, O.J. Simpson, who had been acquitted in a highly publicized trial of killing his estranged wife and her friend, went on trial in civil court in a suit brought by the victims' families and accusing him of responsibility for the deaths.

In 1998, by request of Spanish authorities, British police arrested former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet for questioning about "crimes of genocide and terrorism that include murder."

In 2001 the anthrax scare continued as the U.S. Congress began closing down for security sweeps after 321 staff members and police tested positive for exposure to anthrax.

In 2003, the U.S. hostile fire death toll in the Iraqi war reached 100 since U.S. President George Bush announced the end of major combat in May.

In 2004, Brazil authorized its air force to shoot down planes suspected of smuggling drugs.

In 2005, General Motors estimated it would save about $1 billion a year under an agreement with the United Auto Workers Union to cut annual health benefits for workers and retirees.

Also in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a government demand for $280 billion in penalties from American cigarette makers.

In 2006, North Korea termed U.N. sanctions to punish it for its recent nuclear test a declaration of war. Reports meanwhile said there was evidence a second nuclear test was planned.

In 2007, Israeli President Shimon Peres said Israel did not intend to split Jerusalem, a matter often brought up during Palestinian peace talks. But, the minister in charge of strategic affairs said he did not believe Israel needed to retain control over certain parts of the city if future peace agreements call for such an arrangement.

A thought for the day: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, "With love one can live even without happiness." Today is Saturday, Oct. 18, the 292nd day of 2008 with 74 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include novelist Fannie Hurst in 1889; former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1919; former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, in 1921; Greek actress Melina Mercouri in 1925; rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry in 1926 (age 82); actors George C. Scott in 1927 and Peter Boyle in 1935; Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in 1939; former pro football star and coach Mike Ditka in 1939 (age 69); actor Joe Morton in 1947 (age 61); actress Pam Dawber in 1951 (age 57); musician Wynton Marsalis in 1961 (age 47); and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and actress Erin Moran ("Happy Days"), both in 1960 (age 48).

On this date in history:

In 1776, the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled. Dubbed the "Mason-Dixon" line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.

In 1898, the United States took control of Puerto Rico one year after Spain had granted self-rule to the Caribbean nation.

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corp. was established.

In 1931, Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, died in West Orange, N.J., at the age of 84.

In 1959, the Soviet Union announced an unmanned space vehicle had taken the first pictures of the far side of the moon.

In 1974, the jury in the Watergate cover-up trial heard a tape recording in which U.S. President Richard Nixon told aide John Dean to try to stop the Watergate burglary investigation before it implicated White House personnel.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered an investigation of a CIA handbook for Nicaraguan rebels that suggested assassination as a political tactic.

In 1990, Iraq, pinched by economic sanctions, offered to sell oil to anyone at half the going price.

In 1991, Israel and the Soviet Union agreed to renew full diplomatic relations for the first time since 1967.

Also in 1991, the United States and Soviet Union formally invited Israeli and Arab leaders to a conference in Spain to initiate direct bilateral peace talks.

In 1992, numerous civilians were killed or wounded when Serbian forces unleashed a citywide artillery barrage on Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2002, North Korea revealed it was working on a secret nuclear weapons program and U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Pakistan was a major supplier of critical equipment for it.

In 2003, a published report said British authorities foiled a plot to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2004, exhumation orders were issued for 42 bodies in Sonthofen, Germany, where a hospital orderly admitted to giving lethal injections to 16 patients.

In 2005, Iraqi election officials said parliamentary election results would be delayed "a few days" while procedures were checked at 12 voting sites where as many as 99 percent of ballots favored a new constitution.

Also in 2005, Iran sought to have former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein charged also with genocide and the use of chemical weapons in the war with Iran when he goes on trial for war crimes in Baghdad.

In 2006, despite opposition in both countries, the U.S. government reportedly was pressing the Iraqi government to offer a broad amnesty to insurgents.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned home after eight years in exile to triumphant fanfare that gave way to panic when a suicide bomber killed a reported 139 people in her convoy. Bhutto survived the attack.

A thought for the day: French author George Sand (Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin) said, "Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true and the beautiful in art." Today is Sunday, Oct. 19, the 293rd day of 2008 with 73 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Saturn and Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include English physician and scholar Thomas Browne in 1605; abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1810; historian and city planner Lewis Mumford in 1895; actress LaWanda Page ("Sanford and Son") in 1920; newspaper columnist Jack Anderson in 1922; English spy novelist John Le Carre, whose real name is David Cornwell, in 1931 (age 77); pop artist Peter Max in 1937 (age 71); actor John Lithgow and feminist Patricia Ireland, both in 1945 (age 63); former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield in 1962 (age 46) and Amy Carter, daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in 1967 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence.

In 1812, Napoleon's beaten French army began its long, disastrous retreat from Moscow.

In 1982, carmaker John DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles and charged in a $24 million cocaine scheme aimed at salvaging his bankrupt sports car company. He was tried and acquitted.

In 1987, the New York stock market suffered its biggest setback, with the bellwether Dow Jones industrial average nose diving 508 points in one session.

In 1993, a U.N. oil-and-arms embargo against Haiti was reinstated in an effort to return the exiled Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president of Haiti.

In 1994, more than 20 people were killed in the terrorist bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.

In 2000, independent counsel Robert Ray said in his final report about the White House travel office scandal dubbed "Travelgate" that first lady Hillary Clinton gave "factually false" sworn testimony. But, he said, there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims packed into St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, the last formal step to sainthood.

In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent as he went on trial in Baghdad on charges of murder and torture during his reign as president of Iraq. The initial session, with the former dictator questioning the court's legitimacy and scuffling with guards, lasted three hours before the judge ordered an adjournment.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush warned that any attempts to move any nuclear-related material into or out of North Korea will be stopped by the United States.

Also in 2006, courts-martial were ordered for four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a teenage Iraqi girl and killing her and her family in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad.

In 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said she was warned of an assassination plot by four groups against her, but chose to return home anyway. An attack upon her arrival in Karachi killed a reported 139 people and injured hundreds of others.