The Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2001 with 13 to go.

The moon is waxing, moving toward its first quarter.

The morning star is Jupiter.

The evening stars are Mars and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include German composer Carl Maria von Weber in 1786; Joseph Grimaldi, known as the "greatest clown in history," in 1778; English physicist Joseph Thompson, discoverer of the electron, in 1856; British short story writer Saki (H.H. Munro) in 1870; Swiss modernist painter Paul Klee in 1879; baseball pitcher Tyrus "Ty" Cobb in 1886; film director George Stevens ("Giant") in 1904; actress Betty Grable in 1916; West German statesman Willy Brandt in 1913; actor Ossie Davis in 1917 (age 84); Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards in 1943 (age 58); film director Steven Spielberg in 1947 (age 54); movie critic Leonard Maltin in 1950 (age 51); actors Ray Liotta in 1955 (age 46), Brad Pitt in 1964 (age 37), Kiefer Sutherland in 1966 (age 35), and Katie Holmes ("Dawson's Creek") in 1978 (age 23); and singer Christina Aguilera in 1980 (age 21).

On this date in history:

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States.

In 1915, President Wilson, a widower for one year, married the widow Edith Bolling Galt.

In 1969, singer Tiny Tim, 44, married 17-year-old Miss Vicky Budinger on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show."

In 1972, the United States resumed heavy bombing and mining operations against North Vietnam after the communists refused to agree to end the war.

In 1985, Congress approved the biggest overhaul of farm legislation since the Depression, trimming price supports.

In 1989, a pipe bomb killed Savannah, Ga., City Councilman Robert Robinson, hours after a pipe bomb is discovered at the Atlanta federal courthouse. A racial motive was cited in a rash of bomb incidents.

Also in 1989, the Romanian government sealed the borders amid reports of a deadly crackdown on dissidents.

In 1990, Moldavia became the sixth Soviet republic to refuse to participate in a 10-day meeting in a mounting affront to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

In 1991, General Motors announced it would close 21 plants and eliminate 74,000 jobs in the next four years to offset record losses.

In 1993, Vice President Gore wrapped up a tour of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia -- during which he signed a series of agreements.

In 1996, new rating codes were announced for American television programs.

In 1997, South Koreans elected longtime leftist opposition leader Kim Dae Jong president, marking the first time in the nation's history that a member of the opposition had defeated a candidate of the New Korea Party and its predecessors.

Also in 1997, the six-mile-long Tokyo Bay tunnel connecting the cities of Kawasaki and Kisarazu opened. The project took 8 1/2 years to complete and cost $17 billion.

A thought for the day: Anatole France said, "To know is nothing at all; to imagine is everything."