The Almanac

Today is Saturday, Nov. 23, the 327th day of 2002 with 38 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the United States, in 1804; Scottish poet James Thomson in 1834; notorious outlaw Billy "The Kid" Bonney in 1859; Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco in 1883; actor Boris Karloff in 1887; Romain de Tirtoff, the fashion designer and artist known as Erte, in 1892; Harpo (Adolph Arthur) Marx in 1893; and actress Susan Anspach in 1945 (age 57).

On this date in history:

In 1890, the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was separated from the Netherlands.

In 1919, the first play-by-play football game radio broadcast in the United States took place. Texas A&M blanked the University of Texas, 7-0.

In 1936, Life magazine made its debut.

In 1943, the U.S. Marines took control of the Gilbert Islands from Japanese forces following a fierce 76-hour battle.

In 1945, World War II rationing ended in the United States on all foods except sugar.

In 1954, China announced it had convicted 11 American airmen and two civilians of espionage.

In 1980, an earthquake in Naples, Italy, killed 4,800 people.

In 1990, President Bush met in Geneva with Syrian President Hafez Assad to discuss the Persian Gulf crisis.

In 1991, Serbian, Croatian and Yugoslav leaders signed a U.N.-mediated ceasefire accord. It didn't last.

In 1992, the United States lowered its flag over the last American base in the Philippines, ending nearly a century of military presence in its former colony.

Also in 1992, a Senate report said no credible evidence was found to support claims that Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign tried to delay the release of the hostages held by Iran.

And in 1992, country singer Roy Acuff, who rode the "Wabash Cannonball" to fame and fortune, died of congestive heart failure at age 89.

In 1993, President Clinton signed legislation repealing U.S. sanctions against South Africa.

In 1996, a hijacker forced an Ethiopian 767 jetliner to fly until it ran out of fuel. The aircraft crashed into the sea.

In 1997, Prince Charles appointed former British Prime Minister John Major as the legal and financial protector of Princes William and Harry. The boys' mother, Diana, had been killed in a car accident almost three months earlier.

In 2001, Israelis killed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abu Hudnud, head of the extremist group Hamas, in a helicopter attack in Jesusalem.

A thought for the day: there's a proverb that says, "Before you trust a man, eat a peck of salt with him."