The Almanac

Today is Monday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2006 with 328 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include England's Queen Anne in 1665; statesman Aaron Burr in 1756; baseball great George Herman "Babe" Ruth in 1895; former President Ronald Reagan in 1911; actors Patrick MacNee in 1922 (age 84), Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1923 (age 83) and Rip Torn in 1931 (age 75); French film director Francois Truffaut in 1932; actors Mike Farrell in 1939 (age 67) and Michael Tucker in 1944 (age 62); television news anchorman Tom Brokaw in 1940 (age 66); handgun activist Sarah Brady in 1942 (age 64); singers Fabian Forte in 1943 (age 63) and Natalie Cole in 1950 (age 56); and actor/director Robert Townsend and actress Kathy Najimy, both in 1957 (age 49).

On this date in history:

In 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was appointed commander in chief of the armies of the Confederacy.

In 1943, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of Allied expeditionary forces in North Africa. He later became World War II Supreme Allied Commander in Europe.

In 1952, Princess Elizabeth became sovereign of Great Britain upon the death of her father, King George VI. She was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.

In 1974, the Caribbean island of Grenada was declared independent and a member of the British Commonwealth.

In 1987, broad no-smoking rules took effect for 890,000 employees in 6,800 federal buildings nationwide.

In 1990, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl proposed unifying the currencies of East and West Germany.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush authorized the direct shipment of emergency medical supplies to the Soviet republics of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.

In 1992, a military transport plane crashed into a restaurant and hotel in Evansville, Ind., killing 16 people.

In 1993, U.N Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali asked NATO for authority to order air strikes against Serb artillery positions in Bosnia.

In 1995, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the line-item veto.

In 1996, Pat Buchanan won the Republican presidential caucuses in Louisiana.

In 1997, President Bill Clinton sent Congress a $1.69 trillion budget he said would put the country on course for a balanced budget by 2002.

Also in 1997, the head of Mexico's leading anti-drug agency was forced to resign after evidence emerged that he'd taken brides from a drug cartel.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton said he would never consider resigning because of allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 2001, controversial politician Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel.

In 2003, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld approved deployment of the 101st Airborne Division and the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk to the Persian Gulf region.

Also in 2003, NATO members France, Germany and Belgium blocked deployment of military equipment to Turkey that the Turks could use in the event of an attack by Iraq.

In 2004, a female suicide bomber detonated explosives in a suitcase on a Moscow subway car killing 39 people and injuring about 200.

In 2005, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that decisions must be made to promote peace and encourage a Palestinian state.

Also in 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney rejected demands from Iraq's Sunni leaders that a timetable be set for the withdrawal of the 150,000 U.S. troops.

And in 2005 sports, the New England Patriots won their third Super Bowl in four years, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.

A thought for the day: it was President Ronald Reagan who said, "You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit."