The Almanac

Today is Monday, Aug. 22, the 234th day of 2005 with 131 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include French composer Claude Debussy in 1862; Charles Jenkins, inventor of the conical drinking cup and also airplane brakes, in 1867; writer and critic Dorothy Parker in 1893; heart surgeon Denton Cooley and science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, both in 1920 (age 85); French fashion designer Marc Bohan in 1926 (age 79); Gulf War hero and retired U.S. Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf in 1934 (age 71); actresses Valerie Harper in 1941 (age 64) and Cindy Williams in 1947 (age 58); and singer/songwriter Tori Amos in 1963 (age 42).

On this date in history:

In 1851, the U.S.-built schooner America outran a fleet of Britain's finest ships around England's Isle of Wight in an international race that became known as America's Cup.

In 1881, American humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons founded the National Red Cross.

In 1911, Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" was stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. It was recovered four months later.

In 1922, Michael Collins, a founder of the Irish Republican Army and a key figure in Ireland's independence movement, was assassinated by political opponents.

In 1968, Pope Paul VI arrived in Colombia, becoming the first pontiff to visit South America.

In 1986, Kerr-McGee Corp. agreed to pay the estate of nuclear industry worker Karen Silkwood more than $1 million, ending a 10-year legal battle waged by her family over her exposure to radioactive materials at the company's plant.

In 1995, Rep. Mel Reynolds, D-Ill, was convicted of having sex with an underage girl, leading to his resignation later in the year.

In 1997, a judge scheduled the trial of Paula Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton to begin in May 1998. The suit was later thrown out before the trial began.

Also in 1997, federal officials ordered a new election for president of the Teamsters Union after determining that the campaign of winner Ron Carey had received illegal contributions.

In 2001, the Bush administration projected that the federal surplus, not including Social Security, would be $600 million, a far cry from the $122 billion projected in July.

In 2003, a senior U.S. official said Iraqi security guards were suspected of helping the suicide bomber that hit the Baghdad U.N. compound earlier in the week, killing 22 and injuring about 100 others.

In 2004, two masked robbers stole Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and another painting from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. "The Scream" was stolen once before, 10 years earlier, but was recovered within three months.

Also in 2004, Israel Radio reported that the opening of a nuclear reactor being built at Bushehr, Iran, with the assistance of Russia, has been delayed until 2006.

A thought for the day: Adlai Stevenson said, "... shouting is not a substitute for thinking and reason is not the subversion but the salvation of freedom."