The Almanac

Today is Sunday, Oct. 1, the 274th day of 2006 with 91 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Navy Capt. James Lawrence, hero of the War of 1812, in 1781; novelist Faith Baldwin in 1893; pianist Vladimir Horowitz in 1903; Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, in 1924 (age 82); U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, also in 1924; former major league batting champion Rod Carew in 1945 (age 61); actors Walter Matthau in 1920, James Whitmore in 1921 (age 85), Tom Bosley in 1927 (age 79), George Peppard in 1928, Laurence Harvey in 1928, Richard Harris in 1930, Julie Andrews in 1935 (age 71), Stella Stevens in 1936 (age 70), Stephen Collins in 1947 (age 59) and Randy Quaid in 1950 (age 56); and former baseball star Mark McGwire in 1963 (age 43).

On this date in history:

In 1903, the first World Series opened in Boston. The Boston Pilgrims of the American League defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in the eighth game of a best-of-nine series.

In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model-T automobile.

In 1949, Mao Zedong and other communist leaders formally proclaimed establishment of the People's Republic of China.

In 1974, former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell and four other Nixon administration officials went on trial on Watergate coverup charges.

In 1991, the United States suspended economic aid to Haiti and refused to recognize the military junta that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

In 1992, Dallas billionaire Ross Perot formally announced his candidacy for the presidency. He called his group the Reform Party.

Also in 1992, a missile accidentally fired by the U.S.S. Saratoga struck a Turkish destroyer in the Aegean Sea, killing nine Turkish sailors.

In 1995, 10 Muslims were convicted of conspiring to conduct a terrorist campaign in the New York City area aimed at forcing the United States to drop its support of Egypt and Israel.

In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat met for two days in Washington but without major progress toward peace.

In 2000, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said peace talks were "on the shelf" and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called for an emergency Arab summit as renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians continued.

In 2001, about 40 people were killed when a militant Muslim group attacked the legislative assembly building in the Indian province of Jammu and Kasmir.

In 2003, a report said hostility to the United States "has reached shocking levels" among Muslims and Arabs.

In 2004, the U.S. army said it killed 109 Sunni insurgents in a major offensive with Iraqi national guards against the city of Samara.

In 2005, a reported 36 people, mostly foreign tourists, died in explosions at two resort restaurants on the island of Bali. More than 100 others were reported injured.

Also in 2005, U.S. forces in western Iraq began a massive "Operation Iron Fist" in the town of Sa'da, about 12 miles from the Syrian border.

A thought for the day: the dying words of American naval hero Capt. James Lawrence -- "Don't give up the ship" -- became an honored naval motto.