The Almanac

Today is Monday, April 1, the 91st day of 2002 with 274 to follow.

This is April Fool's Day.

The moon is waning, moving toward its last quarter.

The morning star is Mercury.

The evening stars are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include German military theorist Prince Otto von Bismarck in 1815; Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni in 1866; Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1873; actors Lon Chaney in 1883 and Wallace Beery in 1886; actor Toshiro Mifune in 1920 (age 82); author William Manchester ("Death of a President") in 1922 (age 80); actresses/singers Jane Powell in 1928 (age 74) and Debbie Reynolds in 1932 (age 70); and actresses Ali McGraw in 1938 (age 64) and Annette O'Toole in 1953 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1789, enough congressmen arrived in New York City so the U.S. House of Representatives could achieve a quorum.

In 1918, toward the end of World War I, the Royal Air Force was founded. Two months later, Britain began bombing industrial targets in Germany from bases in France.

In 1945, American forces swarmed ashore on the Japanese island of Okinawa, to begin what would be one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II.

In 1979, Iran declared itself an Islamic Republic.

In 1982, the United States formally transferred control of the Panama Canal Zone to the government of Panama.

In 1986, world oil prices dipped below $10 a barrel.

In 1991, Moscow food stores closed to curb panic buying in anticipation of government price increases.

In 1992, President Bush announced a $24-billion aid package to the former Soviet republics.

In 1993, the FCC ordered the nation's cable television industry to cut its basic monthly rates by about 10 percent.

In 1996, an outbreak of "mad cow" disease forced Britain to plan the mass-slaughter of cows.

In 1997, in the first of two reports, the Justice Department concluded the FBI had erred seriously in its investigation into the July 1996 bombing at Olympic Park in Atlanta.

In 1998, a federal judge dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones against President Clinton.

In 1999, Canada created a new territory, Nunavut, as a means of providing autonomy for the Inuit people.

In 2000, the mediator in the Microsoft antitrust case said the software giant and the government had abandoned talks to settle the case.

In 2001, a U.S. Navy spy plane collided with a Chinese jetfighter off the coast of China. The Chinese plane crashed into the ocean; the damaged U.S. plane landed on the Chinese island of Hainan, where its 24 crewmembers were held for 11 days.

A thought for the day: Marcel Marceau said, "It's good to shut up sometimes."