The Almanac

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Today is Friday, Jan. 6, the sixth day of 2006 with 359 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include Joan of Arc in 1412; archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the ruins of ancient Troy, in 1822; poet Carl Sandburg in 1878; silent movie cowboy star Tom Mix in 1880; former Speaker of the House of Representatives Sam Rayburn in 1882; actress Loretta Young in 1913, actor Danny Thomas in 1914; pollster Louis Harris in 1921 (age 85); musician Earl Scruggs in 1924 (age 82); auto executive John DeLorean in 1925; author E.L. Doctorow in 1931 (age 75); actress Bonnie Franklin in 1944 (age 62); actor Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean") in 1955 (age 51); filmmaker John Singleton in 1968 (age 38); and actor Danny Pintauro ("Who's the Boss?") in 1977 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 1759, George Washington married widow Martha Dandridge Custis.

In 1838, in Morristown, N.J., Samuel F.B. Morse and his partner, Alfred Vail, publicly demonstrated their new invention, the telegraph, for the first time.

In 1912, New Mexico joined the United States as the 47th state.

In 1919, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, died at the age of 60.

In 1925, Paavo Nurmi, known as the "Flying Finn" and regarded as the greatest runner of his day, set world records in the mile and 5,000-meter run within the space of one hour in his first U.S. appearance, an indoor meet at New York City's new Madison Square Garden.

In 1942, a Pan American Airways plane arrived in New York to complete the first around-the-world flight by a commercial airliner.

In 1950, Britain formally recognized the communist government of China.

In 1984, the first test-tube quadruplets, all boys, were born in Melbourne, Australia.

Also in 1984, the 100th Congress convened in Washington with Democrats controlling the Senate, and thus both houses, for the first time under the Reagan administration.

In 1993, dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev died at age 54 of cardiac complications; his doctor later confirmed the dancer had AIDS.

Also in 1993, jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie died of cancer at age 75.

And in 1993, it was announced that Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito would marry a 29-year-old Foreign Ministry official, a commoner, in June.

In 1994, U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the right knee by a man who then fled. The attack, which forced Kerrigan to withdraw from the U.S. Figure Skating Championship, was traced to four men with links to her leading rival, Tonya Harding.

In 1998, some 300 people were reported to have been massacred in the past several days in Algeria's bloody civil war.

In 1999, an agreement ended the 6-month player lockout by owners of National Basketball Association teams.

In 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell admitted mistakes were made in the war on terror but he said actions were taken for the right reasons -- to ensure the spread of freedom and democracy.

Also in 2004, a London newspaper said Princess Diana claimed in a letter written 10 months before her 1997 death that Prince Charles was plotting to kill her.

In 2005, allegations of prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center will be the focus of a new investigation announced by the Pentagon.

Also in 2005, a Texas appeals court overturned the murder conviction of Andrea Yates, the Houston-area woman who drowned her five children in her home's bathtub. The court, which ordered a new trial, said the original trial judge should have declared a mistrial over alleged faulty testimony.

A thought for the day: "Problems are only opportunities in work clothes," Henry Kaiser once said.