The Almanac

Today is Friday, Sept. 19, the 262nd day of 2003 with 103 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include Irvin Westheimer, who founded the American "Big Brothers" movement, in 1879; Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski in 1905; retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell in 1907; author William Golding ("Lord of the Flies") in 1911; actors Adam West in 1929 (age 74) and David McCallum in 1933 (age 70); singer/songwriter Paul Williams and singer Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers, both in 1940 (age 63); actors Randolph Mantooth in 1945 (age 58) and Jeremy Irons in 1948 (age 55); model and actress Twiggy, whose real name is Leslie Hornsby, in 1949 (age 54); Joan Lunden in 1950 (age 53); actor/director Kevin Hooks in 1958 (age 45); and country singer Trisha Yearwood in 1964 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1777, American soldiers won the first Battle of Saratoga in the Revolutionary War.

In 1881, President James Garfield died in Elberon, N.J., of gunshot wounds inflicted July 2 by a disgruntled office-seeker. Vice President Chester Arthur was sworn in as his successor.

In 1893, with the signing of the Electoral Bill by Governor Lord Glasgow, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant national voting rights to women.

In 1955, after a decade of rule, Argentine President Juan Domingo Perón was deposed in a military coup.

In 1985, an earthquake collapsed hundreds of buildings and killed 7,000 people in Mexico City's worst disaster.

In 1988, U.S. swimmer Greg Louganis took the gold medal in three-meter springboard diving at the Seoul Olympics. He'd hit his head on the springboard during preliminary competition.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council authorized Iraq to sell $1.6 billion in oil to buy food and essential supplies.

In 1992, Leanza Cornett of Florida was crowned Miss America 1993 in Atlantic City, N.J.

In 1994, the first 3,000 U.S. troops entered Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on a mission to ensure democracy returned to the Caribbean nation.

In 1995, the Washington Post published the 35,000-word manifesto written by the notorious Unabomber, who had said he wouldn't try to kill again if it was published. The Post and the New York Times shared the costs of publication.

In 2001, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Defense Department ordered deployment of combat aircraft to the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The following day, the Army said ground troops were being sent to the region.

A thought for the day: Gen. Omar Nelson Bradley said, "The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants."