Today is Monday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2003 with two to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include Madame de Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis XV, in 1721; Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh, who patented a waterproof fabric, in 1766; industrialist Charles Goodyear in 1800; Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States, in 1808; British statesman William Gladstone, in 1809; Clyde "Sugar Blues" McCoy, bandleader, trumpet, in 1903; former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in 1917; actors Ed Flanders ("St. Elsewhere") in 1934, Mary Tyler Moore in 1937 (age 66) and Jon Voight in 1938 (age 65); singer Marianne Faithfull in 1946 (age 57); actors Ted Danson in 1947 (age 56) and Jon Polito ("Homicide: Life on the Street") in 1950 (age 53); and comedian Paula Poundstone in 1959 (age 44).

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On this date in history: