The Almanac

Today is Saturday, Nov. 1, the 305th day of 2003 with 60 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include journalist and novelist Stephen Crane in 1871; sportswriter/poet Grantland Rice and Polish author Sholem Asch, both in 1880; journalist James Kilpatrick in 1920 (age 83); actress Betsy Palmer in 1929 (age 74); golfer Gary Player in 1935 (age 68); publisher Larry Flynt in 1942 (age 61); country singer Lyle Lovett in 1957 (age 46); and actresses Rachel Ticotin in 1958 (age 45) and Jenny McCarthy in 1972 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1512, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo's finest works, was exhibited to the public for the first time.

In 1755, an earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, killed 60,000 people.

In 1765, American colonists were furious over the new British Stamp Act, termed "taxation without representation" and, ultimately, a major cause of the revolution.

In 1800, President John Adams and his family moved into the newly built White House as Washington, D.C., became the new U.S. capital.

In 1918, the Hapsburg monarchy of Austria-Hungary was dissolved. Vienna became the capital of Austria and Budapest the capital of Hungary.

In 1922, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey became a republic.

In 1950, two Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into Blair House in Washington in an attempt to assassinate President Truman.

In 1986, a warehouse fire in Basel, Switzerland, triggered massive chemical pollution of the Rhine River in Switzerland, France, West Germany and the Netherlands.

In 1989, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega carried out his threat to suspend a government cease-fire with the Contra rebels.

In 1990, Iraq announced it would permit hostages' families to visit during the Christmas season, but the offer was condemned by the West as cynical.

Also in 1990, McDonald's, under pressure from environmental groups, said it would replace plastic food containers with paper.

In 1991, the Russian Congress of People's Deputies granted Boris Yeltsin sweeping powers to launch and direct radical economic reforms in Russia.

In 1993, the Columbia completed a 14-day flight, the longest mission in U.S. space-shuttle history.

Also in 1993, the European Community's treaty on European unity took effect.

In 1996, Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole accused President Clinton of taking foreign money in his bid for re-election.

Also in 1996, Michigan euthanasia advocate Jack Kevorkian was released on bond, promising not to assist in any more suicides.

In 2001, Enron, the large energy trading company, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission had opened a formal investigation into parts of its accounting practices.

In 2002, a powerful earthquake and more than 30 aftershocks shook Italy's remote Molise region, killing at least 29 with the death toll expected to climb. Villagers fled their homes and businesses in the wake of aftershocks, one so strong it brought down a school onto a class of six-year-olds.

Also in 2002, the Libyan government denied U.S. reports it was trying to buy longer-range missiles than it already has, a development that could threaten the United States and its allies.

A thought for the day: Eubie Blake, who lived to be 100, reportedly said, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."