The Almanac

Today is Thursday, Aug. 7, the 219th day of 2003 with 146 to follow.

The moon is waxing, in its first quarter.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. 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 77); singer B.J. Thomas and humorist Garrison Keillor, both in 1942 (age 61); and actors John Glover in 1944 (age 59) and David Duchovney in 1960 (age 43).

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.

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

In 2001, Uribe Velez was sworn in as president of Colombia in ceremonies interrupted by rebel shelling that killed 15 and wounded 60.

In 2002, Samuel Waksal, former CEO of Inclone was indicted for insider trading in an investigation that also was looking into possible charges against TV and homemaking headliner Martha Stewart.

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