The Almanac

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Today is Tuesday, July 19, the 200th day of 2005 with 165 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include American firearms inventor Samuel Colt in 1814; French painter Edgar Degas in 1834; accused ax murderer Lizzie Borden (she was acquitted) in 1860; Dr. Charles H. Mayo, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic, in 1865; author A.J. Cronin in 1896; former Sen. George McGovern, D-S.D., in 1922 (age 83); former CIA agent-turned-author Philip Agee in 1935 (age 70); singer Vikki Carr in 1941 (age 64); former tennis star Ilie Nastase in 1946 (age 59); and actor Anthony Edwards in 1962 (age 43).

On this date in history:

In 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, a French soldier discovered a black basalt slab inscribed with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta, about 35 miles north of Alexandria. The Rosetta Stone, as it was called, held the key to solving the riddle of hieroglyphics, a long dead written language.

In 1848, "bloomers," a radical departure in women's clothing, were introduced to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. They were named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer.

In 1911, Pennsylvania became the first state to pass laws censoring movies.

In 1918, the end of World War I approached as the German army began retreating across the Marne River in France.

In 1946, Marilyn Monroe was given her first screen test at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. Even without sound, the test was enough to earn Monroe her first contract.

In 1969, John Fairfax of Britain arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to become the first person to row across the Atlantic alone.

In 1984, Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., was chosen as Walter Mondale's vice-presidential running mate at the Democratic National Convention.

In 1989, a crippled DC-10 jetliner crash-landed in a cornfield in Sioux City, Iowa. Amazingly, 181 of the 293 people aboard survived.

In 1990, Pete Rose was sentenced to five months in prison for tax evasion.

In 1991, nine days of combat between Tamil rebels and Sri Lankan soldiers left 78 soldiers and 600 rebels dead in the fiercest fighting since 1983.

In 1993, the Pentagon unveiled its "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy toward homosexuals in the military.

Also in 1993, former U.S. House Postmaster Robert Rota pleaded guilty to conspiring to embezzle public funds.

In 1994, President Clinton said he could accept a health care compromise that would cover about 95 percent of the population. He previously said he would accept nothing less than universal coverage.

In 1995, two House subcommittees opened hearings on the 51-day siege by federal agents of the Branch Davidian compound that began Feb. 28, 1993.

In 1996, the Summer Olympics opened in Atlanta with a record 197 nations taking part.

In 1997, the IRA declared a cease-fire in its long war to force Britain out of Northern Ireland.

Also in 1997, Liberia's first peaceful presidential election following a seven-year civil war was won by Charles Taylor, a rebel leader with a reputation for brutality.

In 1999, hot weather settled in over the eastern United States, lasting through the end of the month and causing at least 200 deaths -- 80 in Illinois.

In 2003, a leading Shiite Muslim cleric, Moqtada Sadr, announced plans in Iraq to form an independent "Islamic army" and denounced the Iraqi governing council as illegitimate.

In 2004, Sandy Berger, former national security adviser to former President Clinton and campaign adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, admitted taking classified documents from the National Archives but said he did so inadvertently.

Also in 2004, a U.S.-conducted poll showed that more than 70 percent of Britons had a negative view of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A thought for the day: Yoga Berra said, "It ain't over 'til it's over."