The Almanac

Today is Wednesday, July 30, the 211th day of 2003 with 154 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include English novelist Emily Bronte in 1818; auto pioneer Henry Ford in 1863; baseball player/manager Casey Stengel in 1890; English sculptor Henry Moore in 1898; Baseball Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig in 1934 (age 69); film director Peter Bogdanovich in 1939 (age 64); singer Paul Anka in 1941 (age 62); actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1947 (age 56); Anita Hill, of the Clarence Thomas hearings fame, in 1956 (age 47); and actors Ken Olin in 1954 (age 49), Delta Burke in 1956 (age 47), Laurence Fishburne in 1961 (age 42), Lisa Kudrow in 1963 (age 40), and Hilary Swank in 1974 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 1619, in Jamestown, Va. the first elected legislative assembly in the New World--the House of Burgesses--convened in the choir loft of the town's church

In 1932, Walt Disney released his first color cartoon, "Flowers and Trees," made in three-color Technicolor.

In 1936, author Margaret Mitchell sold the film rights for "Gone With the Wind" to MGM for $50,000, most ever for a first novel.

In 1937, the American Federation of Radio Artists was organized. It later became AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, under the AFL-CIO.

In 1966, in the first televised World Cup soccer match, host-nation England beat Germany 4-2 to win the tournament final at Wembley Stadium.

In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 21-17, approved a third article of impeachment against President Nixon, charging him with ignoring congressional subpoenas. Nixon resigned before the issue came to trial.

In 1975, former Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa was last seen outside a suburban Detroit restaurant. He was declared dead in 1982.

In 1976, Kate Smith made her last public appearance on this date, singing her signature number "God Bless America" on a TV program honoring the U.S. Bicentennial.

In 1985, South Africa recalled its Washington ambassador-designate following the recall of the U.S. ambassador from Pretoria.

In 1990, George Steinbrenner, under investigation by Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent for making a $40,000 payment to a known gambler, agreed to be permanently barred from operation of the New York Yankees.

In 1991, a special UN commission to Iraq announced it had found 46,000 chemical shells and warheads and 3,000 tons of raw materials for weapons.

In 1992, more than 60 people were injured when a TWA jetliner caught fire after veering off the runway at New York's Kennedy International Airport during an aborted takeoff.

In 1993, tap water was declared safe to drink again in flood-ravaged Des Moines, Iowa.

In 1994, the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Russia decided to tighten sanctions on the Serb-dominated government in what remained of Yugoslavia.

In 1995, negotiators for Russia and the breakaway republic of Chechnya agreed to end the fighting.

In 1997, suicide bombers detonated two bombs in an outdoor market in West Jerusalem, killing themselves and 13 other people. Hamas, an extremist Palestinian group, claimed responsibility.

In 1999, a Maryland grand jury indicted Linda Tripp for illegally taping her phone conversations with Monical Lewinsky.

In 2000, the Republican National Convention opened in Philadelphia. It would nominate Texas Gov. George W. Bush as its presidential candidate.

In 2002, President Bush signed a bill aimed at reforming corporate fraud, accounting and security laws.

Also in 2002, Pope John Paul II was present for the canonizing of Pedro de San Jose Betanur of Guatamala, Central America's first saint, and Juan Diego of Mexico City, first Native American saint.

A thought for the day: President U.S. Grant said, "Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately you occasionally find men disgrace labor."