The Almanac

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Today is Monday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2002 with 78 to follow.

The moon is waxing.

The morning stars are Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

The evening stars are Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, in 1644; Irish political leader Eamon de Valera in 1882; Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, in 1890; poet e.e. cummings in 1894; actress Lillian Gish in 1896; singer Allan Jones in 1908; former basketball coach John Wooden in 1910 (age 92); former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in 1916 (age 86); actor Roger Moore in 1927 (age 75); Watergate figure John Dean in 1938 (age 64); designer Ralph Lauren in 1939 (age 63); British pop singer Cliff Richard in 1940 (age 62); and actors Harry Anderson in 1952 (age 50) and Greg Evigan in 1953 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, led his invading army to victory over England's King Harold at Hastings. He's known to history as William the Conqueror.

In 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee. He refused to have the wound treated until he finished his speech.

In 1944, British and Greek troops liberated Athens, ending three years of World War II occupation by German troops.

In 1947, Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, 24, flying a Bell X-1, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland A's, 4 games to 2, to win the American League pennant and become first Canadian team to go to the World Series. The Jays would win the series.

In 1993, gunmen shot and killed Haitian Justice Minister Guy Malary, who'd been appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in an apparent attempt to scuttle the agreement to return Aristide to power.

In 1994, the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian extremists ended with the soldier and four others being killed in a shootout. The same day, the Nobel peace prize was awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

In 1996, the Dow cracked 6000, closing at a record 6,010.

In 2000, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to meet with President Clinton in Egypt to seek a truce and possibly a way back to the peace table.

A thought for the day: American author Margaret Sangster said, "Creative genius is a divinely bestowed gift which is the coronation of the few."