The Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 21, the 325th day of 2001 with 40 to follow.

The moon is waxing, moving toward its first quarter.

The morning stars are Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.

The evening star is Mars.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French author Francois Voltaire in 1694; William Beaumont, pioneer American army surgeon, in 1785; British steamship company founder Samuel Cunard in 1787; comic actor Harpo Marx in 1888; jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins in 1904; St. Louis Cardinals batting champion Stan Musial in 1920 (age 81); actor Lawrence Luckinbill in 1934 (age 67); actresses Juliet Mills in 1941 (age 60) and Marlo Thomas in 1943 (age 58); TV producer Marcy Carsey and filmmaker/actor Harold Ramis, both in 1944 (age 57); actresses Goldie Hawn in 1945 (age 56), Lorna Luft in 1952 (age 49), Mariel Hemingway in 1961 (age 40), and Nicollette Sheridan in 1963 (age 38); and football player Troy Aikmann in 1966 (age 35).

On this date in history:

In 1783, in Paris, Jean de Rozier and the Marquis d'Arlandes made the first free-flight ascent in a balloon.

In 1800, Congress met for the first time in Washington, D.C.

In 1938, Nazi forces occupied western Czechoslovakia and declared its people German citizens.

In 1974, Congress passed the Freedom of Information Act over President Ford's veto.

In 1985, President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended a summit meeting in Switzerland. They promised acceleration of arms-reduction talks.

In 1990, former Drexel Burnham Lambert junk bond "king" Michael Milken was sentenced to 10 years in prison for securities violations.

In 1991, President Bush signed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, making it easier for workers to sue in job discrimination cases.

In 1995, China jailed well-known dissident Wei Jing-sheng and charged him with trying to overthrow the government.

A thought for the day: it was Voltaire who said, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."