The Almanac

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 7, the 219th day of 2002 with 146 to follow.

The moon is waning, in its last quarter.

The morning stars are Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn.

The evening stars are Mars. Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include Carl Ritter, the German co-founder of modern geographical science, in 1779; the World War I Dutch spy and courtesan known as Mata Hari (Margaret Gertrude Zelle) in 1876; actress Billie Burke in 1885; British archaeologist and anthropologist Louis Leakey in 1903; American statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ralph J. Bunche in 1904; film director Nicholas Ray ("Rebel Without a Cause") in 1911; comedian/producer Stan Freberg in 1926 (age 76); singer B.J. Thomas and humorist Garrison Keillor, both in 1942 (age 60); and actors John Glover in 1944 (age 58) and David Duchovney ("The X-Files") in 1960 (age 42).

On this date in history:

In 1782, the Order of the Purple Heart was established by Gen. George Washington to honor Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War. It was reinstituted in 1932 to recognize those wounded in action.

In 1942, U.S. Marines launched America's first offensive in World War II, landing on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal.

In 1959, the satellite Explorer-6 transmitted man's first view of the Earth from space.

In 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy became the first wife of a president since the days of Grover Cleveland to give birth while he was in the White House. The infant, a boy, died two days later.

In 1990, President Bush sent U.S. troops and air power to protect Saudi Arabian oil fields from possible Iraqi attack.

In 1998, bombs detonated within minutes of each other outside U.S. embassy buildings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people.

A thought for the day: W.C. Fields said, "Anyone who hates children and dogs can't be all bad."