The Almanac

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Today is Monday, July 1, the 182nd day of 2002 with 183 to follow.

This is Canada Day, a national holiday in Canada.

The moon is waning, moving toward its last quarter.

The morning stars are Mercury, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include German philosopher Gottfried Leibnitz in 1646; French novelist George Sand, a pseudonym for the woman Amandine Dupin, in 1804; pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot in 1872; actor Frank Morgan in 1890; actor Charles Laughton in 1899; blues, gospel musician, composer Thomas Dorsey also in 1899; film director William Wyler in 1902; cosmetics executive Estee Lauder in 1908; blues musician Willie Dixon in 1915; actresses Olivia de Havilland in 1916 (age 86) and Leslie Caron in 1931 (age 71); filmmaker Sydney Pollack and actress/writer Jean Marsh, both in 1934 (age 68); actor Jamie Farr in 1936 (age 66); choreographer Twyla Tharp in 1941 (age 61); actresses Karen Black and Genevieve Bujold, both in 1942 (age 60); singer Deborah Harry in 1945 (age 57); actor/comedian Dan Aykroyd in 1952 (age 60); Britain's Princess Diana in 1961; and actors Andre Braugher ("Homicide: Life on the Street") in 1962 (age 40), Pamela Anderson Lee in 1967 (age 35) and Liv Tyler in 1977 (age 25).

On this date in history:

In 1847, the first U.S. postage stamps were issued.

In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield, Mass. Amherst beat Williams, 66-32.

In 1867, Canada was granted its independence by Great Britain. It consisted at the time of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and future provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In 1874, the Philadelphia Zoological Society, the first U.S. zoo, opened to the public.

In 1893, President Cleveland underwent secret surgery to remove a cancerous growth in his mouth. The operation did not become public knowledge until a newspaper article about it was published on Sept. 22, 1917 -- nine years after Cleveland's death.

In 1898, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders led the charge up Cuba's heavily-fortified San Juan Hill in a key Spanish-American War battle.

In 1916, in the worst single day of casualties in British military history, 20,000 soldiers were killed, 40,000 wounded in a massive offense against German forces in France's Somme River region during World War I.

In 1932, the Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt for president. FDR eventually was elected to four consecutive terms.

In 1946, the United States conducted its first post-war test of the atomic bomb, at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

In 1979, Sony introduced the Walkman, known as the Soundabout, in U.S. stores. It sold for about $200.

In 1990, the West and East German economies were united as the deutsche mark replaced the ost mark as currency in East Germany.

In 1991, the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist.

In 1992, a gunman opened fire in a Fort Worth, Texas, courtroom, killing two lawyers and wounding three other people. He later surrendered at a TV station.

In 1993, Congress completed action on an economic stimulus bill that fell far short of what President Clinton wanted.

Also in 1993, President Clinton unveiled a plan for logging in federal old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest that would also protect the northern spotted owl.

In 1994, the U.N. Security Council authorized a commission to investigate "acts of genocide" in Rwanda.

In 1996, a dozen members of a paramilitary organization were arrested in Arizona and charged with plotting to bomb government buildings.

In 1997, Hong Kong was returned to China after 99 years as a British territory.

A thought for the day: H.L. Mencken wrote that "It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull."

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